Eagle Eye Observations: Week 10
The Eagles are in trouble. This much we know. The Eagle Eye would have preferred to turn away yesterday, but it’s a glutton for punishment.
- At least I was right about the number of points they would score. Yay 23! Boo the loss 🙁
- The Eagles have many white whales, but the biggest is the red zone. From here until Andy Reid is shown the door, I think I will refer to it as the “white zone.” It’s also fitting because that’s when the Eagles pull out the white flag and surrender. Anyway, three field goals inside the ten is a sign of weakness. Reid is many things, but I never pegged him for a coward. I was wrong.
- Did you see Trent Cole lined up on the left side a lot in the first half? I guess McDermott was looking for a mismatch. Didn’t seem to work. Cole had his worst game of the year. One assist and zero sacks.
- Best back-to-back defensive plays: Spoon dragged down Naanee short of the first down; on the next play Fokou dumped Darren Sproles in the back field to force a punt. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen at the end of the game, when they really needed it.
- Jason Avant is a joy to watch. His hands are incredible. Nice to see him breakout with 8 for 156. Too bad it went for naught.
- Antonio Gates kills pretty much everyone, but how the hell do you leave him uncovered on third down late in the game? The lack of common sense is stunning. At least they are consistent: they left Jason Witten uncovered last Sunday too.
- Gee, it would have been nice to have some timeouts left at the end. Wasting timeouts every single week is on Reid. Sadly, he’s been doing it for years.
- I think I counted two more whiffs by Asante Samuel. And what exactly was he doing on the touchdown to Naanee? I guess he thought there would be safety help over the top. I’d go back and watch the play again, but I already deleted it.
- So, does the insertion of Eldra Buckley into the goal line offense mean that Westy and Shady are the problem? Uh…no, because Buckley couldn’t get in either. The line is the problem. Sadly, it’s been the line for years.
- Where for art thou, Leonard Weaver? As expected, he was nowhere to be found.
- Speaking of Westbrook. Was he really ready to play? He looked good early, but suffering another concussion this quick after the first one makes me question the Eagles doctors and trainers. Regardless, I think Brian’s season, and possibly his career, are over. What a shame.
- Not sure why Brent Celek wasn’t being utilized in the white zone during the first half. When they sent him into the pattern in the fourth quarter, he caught a touchdown pass. Considering he is their only viable threat inside the ten, it’s a bit puzzling. I’m sure Reid will say the defense was taking him away, or he wanted to use a different personnel package. Excuses, excuses.
- Speaking of excuses, man am I tired of listening to the Reid-McNabb rhetoric. “We battled hard” and “played our hearts out” doesn’t win games. You know what does? Executing and using your fu**ing brain. Two things the Eagles rarely do.
- 29 yards rushing on 13 attempts. That might be a new all-time low for Air Reid. At least Don chucked it for 450. I’d be impressed if I had him on my fantasy team, but I don’t. At any rate, 29 yards on the ground ain’t gonna win ya many contests these days.
- How about those penalties. 9 for 70 yards. I thought Reid said they’ve been working on that. Hmm. You wouldn’t know it by watching them the last nine games. Oh well, maybe next week.
- That Sav Rocca punt after the first series was disgusting. In perfect weather conditions, you have to boot it 50 yards. The Chargers‘ punter didn’t have any difficulties.
- What the f**k was that botched reverse doing in the gameplan? It was U-G-L-Y! No one appeared to know what was going on.
- I can’t wait to see what this offense looks like in 2011. It sucks I’ll have to wait two years, but beggars can’t be choosers.
- Michael Vick finally throws a decent pass and DeSean drops it. Yeah, it was a little behind him, but elite receivers make that catch. C’mon DeSean!
Next up, another Sunday night game. Since the guys in green dislike balling on the peacock Network, I wonder if they could move the game to the NFL Network? Hell, I’ll take ESPN at this point, even if it means listening to Jon Gruden drop pearls of wisdom like, “I’ll tell ya what Jaws, that Trent Cole is a football player.”
Ugh. I need alcohol… lots of alcohol.