PHI at PIT – Game Thread

Posted: August 18th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 188 Comments »

Sorry I’m late.

188 Comments on “PHI at PIT – Game Thread”

  1. 1 nicolajNN said at 8:27 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Ouch Samuel…

  2. 2 Damon said at 8:27 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    can you say wide open

  3. 3 DB said at 8:28 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I’m pretty sure we sucked in the 2004 pre-season.

  4. 4 nicolajNN said at 8:30 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I didn’t catch it on the replay, but was there supposed to be safety help?

  5. 5 Bryan said at 8:30 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Sammy….got caught looking. You owe us a pick 6 now

  6. 6 nicolajNN said at 8:36 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I think that drive went according to plan. We need to evaluate our rookie punter. So far so good

  7. 7 d said at 8:39 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    D not looking so good tonight

  8. 8 Tommy Lawlor said at 8:40 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Fokou looks pretty big. I wondered if that was Hugh Douglas covering the TE on the first drive.

  9. 9 Tommy Lawlor said at 8:41 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Sloppy defense.

  10. 10 nicolajNN said at 8:43 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Are we missing our bigger DTs?

  11. 11 PK said at 8:43 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I remember asking. What happens if people keep running up the middle and keep throwing short… this happens…

  12. 12 Name said at 8:44 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Yuck

  13. 13 Bryan said at 8:44 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Pitt is abusing us in the run game?

  14. 14 izzylangfan said at 8:44 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Can’t stop the run. Or anything else.

  15. 15 Tommy Lawlor said at 8:45 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    The D is facing a crisp offense right now. That’s good test. We’re not doing well, but let’s see if the guys adjust and get better. Preseason is a time to learn and adapt.

  16. 16 iskar36 said at 8:45 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Neither Caney or Matthews have shown up at all so far

  17. 17 Tommy Lawlor said at 8:48 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    2nd week in a row where a swing pass has burned us on a LB blitz. Gotta fix that.

  18. 18 Damon said at 8:48 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    wow this d is not executing

  19. 19 Tommy Lawlor said at 8:50 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I really detest Hines Ward. Can’t wait for him to retire.

  20. 20 DB said at 8:51 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    This D might be like 2004. Might get slammed by the run, but teams will get burned when trying to come back.

  21. 21 amoore42 said at 8:51 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    We’re getting gashed here. Penalty on a 3rd and 20, TD on a 3rd and 18.

  22. 22 Dr. Ogrodnick said at 8:51 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Fire Juan!!!

    Too early?

  23. 23 GermanEagle said at 8:51 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Nate Allen sucks!

  24. 24 Mac said at 8:52 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Wow bad game for the defense

  25. 25 Iowa Eagle said at 8:53 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I know it’s preseason, but this is pretty disheartening defensively…

  26. 26 Damon said at 8:53 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Not impressed at all with our D

  27. 27 amoore42 said at 8:53 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Hey Tommy, does it seem to you like our DEs are getting forced too far wide? I know we’re in the wide 9, but it seems like half the time our ends are chasing the QB and the RB from behind as they sprint up the field.

  28. 28 Bryan said at 8:55 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Big heads from last weeks performance? At least the league is getting a blueprint on how to crush our defense

  29. 29 iskar36 said at 8:56 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @amoore42

    My understanding is that the LBs are suppose to make those plays, but right now, our LBs are not getting the job done.

  30. 30 Morton said at 8:56 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    See, here’s the fundamental problem: When you don’t draft well, you need to reach for people in free agency and you’re left with scraps at positions that should have been manned with capable vets for a long time.

    Do you think the Steelers would ever dream of entering a season with a 3rd year 7th rounder at WLB, a ROOKIE at MLB, and a 2nd year 7th rounder at SLB?

    Why do the Steelers have no need whatsoever to spend on overrated, older free agents and yet they are consistently in the top 5 teams year-in and year-out? Because they DRAFT WEL L. When you DRAFT WELL, you don’t need to spend a dime on older free agents, you stay in house and groom your own guys and there is a semblance of continuity, and you don’t find yourself plugging in holes left in the team with rookies and assorted other scraps.

    Until this front office / coaching staff learns how to draft properly a la the Steelers and the Packers, you can say sayonara to any Super Bowl hopes.

  31. 31 amoore42 said at 8:56 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I know they’re probably trying to get Desean up to speed, but I hold my breath every time they throw the ball his way. Please, football gods, no injuries!

  32. 32 Tommy Lawlor said at 8:58 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Casey Matthews with a good tackle on inside run.

  33. 33 Morton said at 8:58 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    On another note, is it too late to call Sean McDermott down in North Carolina and ask him to come back? Pretty please, Sean, with a cherry on top? At least if we’re going to run a defense that gets burnt extra-crispy we can have fun with exotic zone blitzes. It’s not as much fun getting burnt on a generic 4-man rush every down.

  34. 34 amoore42 said at 8:59 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @Morton

    I think we draft pretty well actually. Andy just doesn’t care about linebackers. They invest in d-line and cornerback consistently. LB is probably the least important part of the Reid defense.

  35. 35 Name said at 9:00 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Hah Morton I thought you can’t learn anything from the preseason

  36. 36 Bryan said at 9:00 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    This team is completely flat…why bother showing up tonight?

  37. 37 DB said at 9:01 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Steelers getting a lot of injuries. If our main guys get outta here healthy, I think we’ll all take a little beatdown.

  38. 38 Tommy Lawlor said at 9:01 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Good to see the defense wake up. Too bad Big Ben was out when it happened.

  39. 39 Crus said at 9:02 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I think this is a set-up just to kill the ‘Dream Team’ talk.

  40. 40 Tommy Lawlor said at 9:02 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Blocked FG? Wow. Eagles never block FGs.

  41. 41 Bryan said at 9:03 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I would make these guys run sprints after the game just to put an emphasis on effort….nice blocked kick by Sammy…there is a little redemption for getting toasted earlier

  42. 42 Iskar36 said at 9:03 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Asante on STs?

  43. 43 GermanEagle said at 9:03 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    What’s the Phillies score?

  44. 44 Boyboy said at 9:04 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    good to see nate allen looking like sean considine

  45. 45 amoore42 said at 9:05 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I’m not concerned about the TDs. We’re not really blitzing or doing anything exotic. Guys are still getting up to speed. The inability to stop the run concerns me a little bit more, because that seems to be more about ability.

  46. 46 Morton said at 9:06 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Brodrick Bunkley, a first round pick in 2006, was just shipped out of town for a bag of potato chips because the Eagles can’t evalute talent properly. Both Trevor Laws and Victor Abiamiri, two 2nd round picks in 2007 and 2008 are injured and will contribute little this year.

    Meanwhile, the Steelers are starting two Pro Bowl linebackers from the 2007 draft (Lawrence Timmons and Lamarr Woodley) and a Pro Bowl RB from the 2008 draft (Rashard Mendenhall).

    The Eagles can draft offensive talent decently, as of late, but they simply cannot evaluate defensive talent, and/or they can’t coach it up and/or they can’t retain it. The one true impact defensive player they’ve drafted, coached, and retained in the past 6 years is Trent Cole. That’s IT. Despite sinking lots of resources into that side of the ball for years.

  47. 47 Bill said at 9:08 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I thought this was a thread about the game, Morton is turning me off.

  48. 48 GermanEagle said at 9:08 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    This game can’t be over soon enough.

    What’s the Phillies score?!

  49. 49 amoore42 said at 9:09 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I think its a bit too early to say that Laws isn’t going to contribute anything this year. Seems like you’re lumping him and VA into the same category unnecessarily.

    Also, not sure you can blame VA’s constant injuries on the Eagles. You might as well say they shouldn’t have drafted Brandon Graham because he tore his ACL. Just some bad luck.

  50. 50 Damon said at 9:10 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    can anyone on D tackle the QB

  51. 51 Bill said at 9:11 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    It’s preseason, expect better, but you want to see if Juan can adjust.

  52. 52 amoore42 said at 9:11 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    3rd and 24? Really?

  53. 53 Tommy Lawlor said at 9:14 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    3rd down defense is shockingly bad. Real concern.

  54. 54 Morton said at 9:14 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    amoore42: How come teams such as the Steelers or Packers never seem to have their big-time first round/ second round picks suffer ACL tears and such? Maybe there is more to it than just luck? Maybe there’s something to be said about drafting injury prone players and doing your due diligence as a talent evaluator?

    Jerome McDougle, Victor Abiamiri, Brandon Graham, Stewart Bradley. It’s not all just luck. The Eagles are don’t do a good enough job of identifying players who are susceptible to injury. There must be something to it – like medical red flags they choose to ignore. I mean, microfracture surgery is only performed when the cartilage in the knee is almost completely gone. There’s no way that Graham’s knee lost its cartilage in one season with the Eagles. Evidence of that condition must have been there prior to his drafting and the Eagles chose to ignore it or they lacked the competence to identify it.

  55. 55 Australia_Mike said at 9:16 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Pretty sure no one saw Jerome McDougle getting shot coming …

  56. 56 amoore42 said at 9:16 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @Tommy,

    Could it be because we’re just not blitzing? Gotta figure we bring some extra rushers on 3rd and really, really long.

  57. 57 jjcake said at 9:17 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Vick is looking pretty bad too with those two picks. The d was looking good up to when jenkins got the face mask penalty that negated his nice looking sack. Our DBs have not shied away from tackling. Our problems are stopping the run and the blown coverages on those tds. Asomugha looks like the only solid db tonight.

  58. 58 GermanEagle said at 9:17 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    That D has McNoD written all over tonight!

    Steelers converted 80% of third downs so far. That is utterly ugly.

  59. 59 Name said at 9:18 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @Morton: Quit being a dick

  60. 60 Bryan said at 9:19 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Nate Allen or Sean considine or liToast

  61. 61 Morton said at 9:19 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Australia_Mike: Perhaps that’s part of the talent evaluation process? You have to identify character flaws in a prospect that would place him in a situation where he exposes himself to the possibility of being shot. Look at McDougle’s background: played in Miami, 25 year old when drafted, JUCO transfer. Probalby wasn’t too bright, and probably hung out with the wrong people. You can *identify* that kind of stuff and avoid reaching for prospects who put themselves in harm’s way.

  62. 62 iskar36 said at 9:20 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    At least McCoy has been playing well.

  63. 63 amoore42 said at 9:20 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    On the bright side, McCoy looks like he’s poised to have a big year!

  64. 64 Bryan said at 9:20 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Chas Henry = MVP tonight

  65. 65 Iowa Eagle said at 9:21 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Can everyone do me a huge favor and no matter how much you want to replay to Morton, just don’t comment about his posts on here from now on.. Silent Treatment

  66. 66 nicolajNN said at 9:22 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    What do you all recon we can get for Vick next off-season? With Andrew Luck I don’t see how we can keep Vick too, especially after the horrific season he’s bound to have.

  67. 67 Morton said at 9:23 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Man, I really freaking hate this team. Fat, incompetent, dismissive, pompous Andy Reid. The audacity of hiring a goddamn offensive line coach to run an NFL defense. Blowing all kinds of money in free agency and having even less to show for it than last year.

    This team is going to have the distinction of spending some of the most money in free agency on defensive players in the history of the NFL and simultaneously being one of the worst defenses in NFL history. It’s disgusting. Screw this team completely. I’m done with the bum Eagles and their lame duck head coach is getting fired this season.

    Hey, at least the Phillies will probably win the World Series this year.

  68. 68 Dominic said at 9:23 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    at least the o-line looks pretty good?

  69. 69 andrew said at 9:24 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @ morton

    Ever heard of Justin Harrell? Packers 1st round D tackle pick 2007 i think? Hardly plays due to injuries..

    It happens to all teams, didn’t the packers have 16 players on IR last year, or some number close to that?

  70. 70 jjcake said at 9:25 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    The o-line looks good against the steelers first d. I think Vick is holding on to the ball too long.

  71. 71 Damon said at 9:27 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Houston we have a problem

  72. 72 Iowa Eagle said at 9:28 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Are playing fucking Busch Leauge? What a pathetic performance. Dream team is right… we’re all sleeping

  73. 73 Dr. Ogrodnick said at 9:29 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    0-16 sounds about right.

    🙂

  74. 74 jjcake said at 9:30 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Loved seeing Vick put the hit onTroy. That was a crappy int, not his fault. God that run defense sucks! I was going to take the eagles d for my fantasy team, but don’t think I will now. Looks more like the “wet dream team”

  75. 75 nicolajNN said at 9:30 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    My stream is quite late but that was quite a tackle by Vick. Our MLB?

  76. 76 amoore42 said at 9:35 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Hated seeing Vick put the hit on Troy. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb.

    Our hopes for the season rest on your shoulders, Mike, don’t go driving them into Troy Polomalu’s knees in a meaningless preseason game.

    Stupid!

  77. 77 Morton said at 9:37 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    amoore: Actually, the quicker Vick gets injured the better chance we have of competing for the Andrew Luck sweepstakes. That is, as long as Vince Young has his patented psychological breakdown!

  78. 78 Steve-o said at 9:39 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Morton, get a life dude. It’s pre-season. This is good for this team who’s been hearing all this “dream team” crap. They’ll learn from this like they always do. By the way, they also drafted Brian Westbrook, Donovan McNabb, Brent Celek, Djax, Maclin and countless other success stories. Time to relax and enjoy the butt kicking they’ll all get this week from the staff.

  79. 79 Morton said at 9:40 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Steve-o: You win titles with defense, not offense. There isn’t a single defensive player in that list that you named.

    Andy Reid & co. simply cannot evalute defensive talent. If you can’t do that, you’re never winning a Super Bowl. Period. You can’t win a Super Bowl with mediocre defense.

    The only reason Andy ever had the benefit of solid defense early in his career is because he had some leftovers from the Ray Rhodes era (Dawkins, Trotter, etc) and the mind of Jim Johnson.

  80. 80 Bill said at 9:41 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Well the breaking the camp early, two off days at the beginning of the week shows. Pitt got blown out by Washington last week, so it was bound to come back and bite us. Defense needs to show up in the 2 nd half, at least make some plays.

  81. 81 amoore42 said at 9:43 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @Morton

    Are you really serious? Seriously? Really?

    It’s the second preseason game!

    Packers went 2-2 in the preseason last year.

    I actually think this will be good for the team. Getting their butts kicked in the preseason will knock some rust off and keep them working hard.

    If you really think we’re going to be a bad team this year, based on 2 quarters of preseason football you’re a real know-nothing.

  82. 82 izzylangfan said at 9:43 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    So will Juan be able to adjust. Not within the game but for the season?

    Can a quarterback learn to handle the blitz in one training camp? It could take a few real games. It seems like Vick is so confused by what he is trying to be aware of that he has lost his sense of what is happening.

  83. 83 BenJam said at 9:44 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    DREAM TEAM BABY!

  84. 84 ian no. 2 said at 9:45 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Missed part of the second quarter, and it would be great if the Eagles always overpowered everyone, but this game is a good thing.. everyone jumps out of their ‘winning the off season’ mode.

    The Steelers are not only coming off a Super Bowl season, but they have continuity of veterans.. which means that it is logical that they can overcome the new pieces in Philly. They also have more depth on the line right now. Philly’s turnover is partially a case of improving the team, partially turnover all the time – a different personnel style to the Steelers. We just had that article in the NY Times about creating cap space for the big offseason, but that brings turnover. It means the Steelers will look much better in a preseason game.

    We’ll get a sense of how good the Eagles are in the regular season against NE.

  85. 85 BenJam said at 9:45 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Really worried about out LB/Safeties. Undersized/underskilled/inexperienced. NOT A GOOD COMBO.

  86. 86 Steve-o said at 9:46 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    ok fine….Trent Cole, Sheldon Brown, Lito Sheppard, Michael Lewis, Mike Patterson, Corey Simon…. Maybe they weren’t all year after year pro bowlers but some were and they all were pretty damn good in their prime.

  87. 87 Bill said at 9:47 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Thanks amoore42, its about learning and adjusting, next week will have more of an impact on what to expect from this team.

  88. 88 nicolajNN said at 9:47 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Colts won with a mediocre defense. Besides didn’t you just quit the team Morton?

    All these doom like comments from all over the interwebs have reminded me of Tatergeddon, is this it?

    On a side note I was surprised that Tatergeddon has made its way to the Urban Dictionary

  89. 89 Thunderlips said at 9:47 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Morton

    The eagles are horrible at drafting, therefore, if they drafted Luck, he would be terrible. I call it “the Morton Paradox.”.

  90. 90 Morton said at 9:51 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    amoore: I watched 2 of the first 3 Packers preseason game last year and in each game, when the Packers starting D was on the field, they looked great. You can definitely infer certain things about the starters from the way they play in the preaseason. The win-loss obviously doesnt’ matter if most of the 2nd and 3rd stringers play the majority of the game, but if you watch the 1st stringers you’ll get an idea of how well they do. The Packers D and Rodgers both looked amazing last year in the preseason.

    Conversely, if you get manhandled on every play and your defensive line overruns everything, that’s not going to magically go away once the regular season starts. I saw the exact same thing last year against the Bengals in the second preseason game. They came out looking amazing against the jaguars, and then all of the issues that eventually plagued them in the regular season cropped up against the Bengals when the starters played: easy TD passes, long RB gains, Kolb looking skittish in the pocket, OL breakdowns…

    ian no 2: you won’t need to wait until the NE game to know this team stinks. An 0-4 record heading into Week 5 should tell you all you need to know, probably.

  91. 91 kabir said at 9:52 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    why even respond to this morton guy? obvious troll.

    i agree with what some have written above – this should be a good wake up call for some players, some coaches, and good that it’s coming in the preseason.

    nate allen looked like he was having a pretty bad night.

  92. 92 Morton said at 9:53 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Thunderlips: Except that you can’t screw up Andrew Luck. Even the Eagles aren’t that bad. Unless of course, Andy Reid tries to outsmart everyone and pick a 250lb DE with the #1 overall pick instead. I certainly wouldn’t put it past him.

  93. 93 Bill said at 9:54 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Good thing your watching the game Morton! Cause this thread is about the game, notice Tommy hasn’t posted anything because of you!

  94. 94 Tommy Lawlor said at 9:54 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Terrible 1st half, but let’s remember…we’re still talking about preseason football. Staying healthy is goal #1.

    And #2. And #3.

    I’ll watch the tape. We’ll see what needs to be fixed.

  95. 95 DF said at 9:55 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Tommy? Are the Steelers doing a good job pushing our DE’s to the ground as they go by the QB or is that a fundamental part of the wide-9. It doesn’t seem like our d-lineman can pursue because they are on the ground.

  96. 96 Tommy Lawlor said at 9:55 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Sorry for disappearing. Had to go support my local Wendy’s.

  97. 97 BenJam said at 9:56 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Hey Tommy, do you think this defensive performance is a catalyst for Howie to go out and pick up a veteran MLB? Or move Chaney back inside? I thought Matthews REALLY struggled…

  98. 98 DB said at 9:57 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Tommy,

    How are the fries? I’ve heard good things about the new sea salt.

  99. 99 Bryan said at 9:59 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Chas Henry = MVP today

  100. 100 iskar36 said at 9:59 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I got agree with you BenJam. I was hoping to see SOMETHING from Matthews, but he seemed to always get stuck on a block or be running away from the play. I was very underwhelmed with what I saw.

  101. 101 Damon said at 10:03 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    so what linebacker are we bringing in?

  102. 102 Tommy Lawlor said at 10:04 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Gotta watch the tape to see how Casey looked. Easy to blame him now, but tape will show what really happened. Also, need to see if he does have problems…can they be fixed.

  103. 103 ppk said at 10:04 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Morton was the first tonight to raise a legitimate point: Can an O-line coach transition quickly and successfully into a D Coordinator in the NFL?

    Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

  104. 104 Sean said at 10:05 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    No belly rub???

  105. 105 jjcake said at 10:07 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Teo looked good. Looking forward to your analys Tommy.

  106. 106 DF said at 10:07 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Just seemed like our d-line had one shot to dirupt the play, after that there is no pursuit and the offense is in control.

  107. 107 DB said at 10:08 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    No injuries so far.

    Good outcome. We can fix bad play. We can’t fix a lack of talent.

  108. 108 nicolajNN said at 10:10 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Actually Avant got hurt

  109. 109 ppk said at 10:12 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @DB

    Do we have talent at MLB?

  110. 110 Alex K said at 10:14 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    This D looks bad, but I’m willing to have some faith that a lot of this can be fixed. A new defensive scheme will take a while to take root; hell, problems might linger into the beginning of the regular season, given the lack of OTAs. As for Vick’s performance . . . let’s just call it an off-day, OK? Anyone else remember how terrible Vick looked in the preseason last year?

  111. 111 Jeppe said at 10:14 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Is this way so many fans don’t watch pre-season? Because it is so painful??

    Wow, I am utterly disappointed, and really hope that we can blame it on the fact, that the team is slowly getting accustomed to one another…

  112. 112 Thunderlips said at 10:14 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    On the plus side, I won’t need to cut myself tonight…

  113. 113 DB said at 10:18 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @ppk

    Not sure about talent at MLB. Gotta let him play to find out. Two pre-season games will not prove anything, good or bad. We’ll have to see how he corrects his mistakes.

  114. 114 @DB said at 10:20 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Truth.

  115. 115 ppk said at 10:21 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @DB

    Truth. (Sorry for the messed post above) .

  116. 116 Eaglesfanperson said at 10:22 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    still waiting for an answer on those fries Tommy…

  117. 117 Tommy Lawlor said at 10:23 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Just going off live looks, King Dunlap seemed to do okay at RT with the starters.

  118. 118 Tommy Lawlor said at 10:24 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Fries were good. I liked the old ones a lot as well.

    Steak fries are the best. Had some great ones out at FatBurger in LA recently.

  119. 119 Tommy Lawlor said at 10:27 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I like the way Dion runs.

    I don’t like the way he holds the ball in traffic.

  120. 120 Damon said at 10:28 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Andy can just roll the jim mora tape after the game no need for a press conference.

  121. 121 Dirk Diggler said at 10:28 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Up until he fumbled I was about to say how impressive Dion looks running the ball.

  122. 122 Cafone said at 10:29 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Merrill: “The only knock on Dion Lewis is that he tend to put the ball on the ground”
    Mike: “They said that about Shady too. I don’t listen to that stuff.”
    *Lewis fumbles*

  123. 123 McG said at 10:33 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Do you think Andy will call a 1st down punt so we can at least see what one of the Henry’s can do?

  124. 124 Dirk Diggler said at 10:33 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Seems like the Steelers receivers are consistently wide open. Don’t know what’s up with the pass defense. They look terrible.

  125. 125 Tommy Lawlor said at 10:34 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Trufant isn’t good.

  126. 126 McG said at 10:36 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I got to the thread late (on account of having my little girls watch the first half with me)…

    Did anyone notice (I’m watching on Fox) that play where Bradshaw circled Matthew’s and he got blown up on an inside run (it wasn’t at him, but he literally got taken right off his feet).

    Also, is it just me, or is this game dropping any potential trade value of Joselio Hanson?

  127. 127 DF said at 10:37 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Tommy. Why switch Nate Allen to SS and Jarrett to FS?

  128. 128 Kevin (RC) said at 10:37 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    It’s preseason. We’re healthy. I’m not worried. Many of our problems are fixable. Castillo was NOT the problem. Casey Matthews and Nate Allen were the biggest problems.

  129. 129 netherman said at 10:39 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    The combination of tonight’s performance and Joe Buck can make a grown man cry. Might have been a bad time to stop drinking.

  130. 130 Dirk Diggler said at 10:39 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Watching it live it looks like the D-Line is playing fairly well. Lots of penetration, but the linebackers and secondary doesn’t seem to be filling the running lanes. Tommy, you think that’s poor execution or that Castillo needs to adjust the scheme?

  131. 131 phillybirdzfan said at 10:40 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Andy has successfully shot down all the dream team talk.

  132. 132 Tommy Lawlor said at 10:41 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @ DF…

    The positions didn’t change. The names did.

    Weird, I know.

  133. 133 McG said at 10:42 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @ netherman

    I’m pretty sure my dog has more interesting things to say than Joe Buck.

  134. 134 Iowa Eagle said at 10:42 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Did Nate Allen actually get moved to SS or did Juan just switch the FS and SS designation? So now what he calls the SS is acutally where the FS is in most defenses and vice versa… or am I just flat out confused here?

  135. 135 iskar36 said at 10:42 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @DF

    My understanding is that in our new defense, the SS and FS are very similar, so in terms of actual assignment, Nate Allen is playing the same way he would have played FS in last years defense.

  136. 136 Tommy Lawlor said at 10:44 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @ Mr. Diggler…

    Love your work. Oh, and the DL has had some good moments. Breakdowns in the back seven. Gotta check the tape to see what happened.

  137. 137 McG said at 10:44 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    ooo how bad was that play for Higgins? Losing track of the ball like that.

  138. 138 Ryan said at 10:46 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    nice run by kafka followed by nice catch and run for dion

  139. 139 Name said at 10:46 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Waters – Steelers kicker looks awful. I’d be hoping to sign a veteran if I was a Pittsburg fan.

  140. 140 ATG said at 10:46 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @ Kevin

    I agree. Every time I noticed Nate, I didn’t like what he was doing. That interception over Asante was at least equal parts his fault.

    Maybe they should have put in another day or two at Lehigh, maybe this is just because we are changing so much and Pittsburgh is changing so little, but I was disappointed. I’m not going this far, however:

    “Screw this team completely. I’m done with the bum Eagles…”

    It is dark on the East Coast, but I am pretty sure the sky is still up there where it belongs and we can learn from this. Just like last week, we must temper our reactions to preseason games.

  141. 141 Iskar36 said at 10:46 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Wow. That’s one way to make up for a fumble.

    Also, Kafka has looked pretty solid so far, inspite of the Higgins drop.

  142. 142 McG said at 10:47 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I’m thinking we can ink 3 RBs to our roster now… barring injury of course.

  143. 143 Thorin said at 10:48 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    You know a good way to get cut? Let a long pass completeion bounce of your facemask. Right between the eyes.

  144. 144 ATG said at 10:48 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Touchdown rather, there were plenty of interceptions, but none over Asante.

  145. 145 Jack said at 10:49 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Old igglesblog reader, and was scrolling through. First thought was “Morton still exists????? Aw man…..”

  146. 146 Tommy Lawlor said at 10:49 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Gerald Jones and Dion Lewis doing some good things on that drive.

    Nice.

  147. 147 Dirk Diggler said at 10:50 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Nice reach by Jones, making a push for the practice squad?

  148. 148 McG said at 10:50 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Kafka is looking pretty solid. How much can we take from this performance considering it’s not “starter level” material being fielded against him?

  149. 149 TB said at 10:50 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    In the face! Come on Johnnie. Beautiful run by Kafka, and great sell on screen. Beautiful moves from Dion.

  150. 150 Kevin (RC) said at 10:51 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Morton has no idea what he’s talking about. There are things I don’t like about our team (our refusal to spend elite resources on the WILL position being #1), but by in large, the system works.

    It’s pre-season. The 0-16 Lions…went 4-0 in the preseason.

  151. 151 Tommy Lawlor said at 10:51 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @ Jack…

    He’s indestructible.

  152. 152 DF said at 10:51 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Kafka looked solid on that drive. Like the scramble recognized man coverage and took off (as much as he can). Good pocket presence. I think the o-line has looked pretty good tonight 1s, 2s & 3s.

  153. 153 Tommy Lawlor said at 10:52 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Dream Team is back!!!!

  154. 154 McG said at 10:52 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Henery needs to watch some film on Aker’s onside technique… lol

  155. 155 Iowa Eagle said at 10:53 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Who is this #65 flying around on the D line?

  156. 156 Ryan said at 10:53 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    The biggest thing that has bugged me about Johnny Lee (other than the drop) is that he hasn’t tried to bring a KO return out of the endzone. Sinorice Moss isnt resting on making the roster and he brought two deep ones out and got good returns on them, props on the effort from him.

  157. 157 Kyle said at 10:53 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I decided to drink a 40 during the game. At half time I had to go out and get another 40.

    Anyway, I think Oline looked good. Was trying to watch Watkins the most. He actually impressed me. On one of the first plays we had he started to get beat insides but then caught it and held his ground long enough for Vick to get a full release.

    Has Nnamdi given up a completion yet? I haven’t even seen the ball thrown his way.

    Nate Allen is tackling better and looks bigger to me. To bad he isnt covering good now.

    I’m trying to be positive 🙂

  158. 158 Tommy Lawlor said at 10:54 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    65 is Chris Wilson, DE from the Skins and CFL.

  159. 159 McG said at 10:55 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    #65 Chris Wilson… i was thinking the same thing and had to look it up.

  160. 160 Iowa Eagle said at 10:56 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    He got my attention after he apparently thought Dixon was a Blue Spruce and it was Arbor Day.

  161. 161 Dirk Diggler said at 11:00 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    After this game, I think Higgins is on the outside of the roster bubble.

  162. 162 McG said at 11:02 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I hope they take 50% of Buck’s cash and about 90% of Aikman’s and give it to Bradshaw… he has carried their sorry asses this whole game.

  163. 163 BenJam said at 11:02 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Tommy do you know if the Eagles gameplan for preseason games or did we just come in as if this was another intersquad scrimmage?

  164. 164 Iskar36 said at 11:02 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    We haven’t really had a chance to see Higgins return anything, and honestly, to me, that’s his value. With the WRs we have, I’m not sure any 6th WR is going to see the field much.

  165. 165 Ryan said at 11:02 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    my wrs in order at this point are maclin, jackson, smith, avant, cooper, hall, rod harper(where has he been tonight?), g. jones then higgins then turner.

  166. 166 Frank said at 11:03 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Not watching, just reading, thanks for all the comments
    about THE GAME folks. To echo you fellas, no injuries is best outcome at this stage. Looking foward to the review…

  167. 167 Ryan said at 11:03 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    and harper gets 2 catches on cue when I ask where he was, thanks rod!

  168. 168 McG said at 11:05 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Anybody else in here notice a strong resemblance between ben roethlisberger and Will Ferrel? I mean if you broke Ferrel’s nose a couple times… they could be brothers… I’m sensing a movie.

  169. 169 TB said at 11:05 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Oh boy… Terry Bradshaw… That Big Ben conversation couldn’t have been more awkward.

    Kafka looked a little short on a few outs that could have been completions. Has made some really nice throws though. I like how he looks in there.

  170. 170 Tommy Lawlor said at 11:06 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I’m happy to see Gerald Jones coming up big. Great job by him.

  171. 171 McG said at 11:06 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    If I’m Reid… I’m having a hard time right now actually thinking that VY is my second string QB.

  172. 172 Frank said at 11:06 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @McG

    Indeed! Only Ferrel plays soccer and sports hot pink socks.

  173. 173 Iowa Eagle said at 11:07 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @McG
    Maybe you could write those two into a script that would follow up my current piece called “Diamonds In The Ruff” staring Diamond Dallas Page and Dustin Diamond

  174. 174 Name said at 11:10 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Nice game by Gerald Jones. Not sure he’ll clear the waver wire if he’s cut. Maybe the Eagles can stash him on IR? Bigger upside than Chad Hall.

  175. 175 Ryan said at 11:12 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @Name

    I always worry about trying to put guys like that on the PS, it happened a couple of years ago with Danny Amendola…ever since I hate sending guys I really like to the PS

  176. 176 Dirk Diggler aka Name said at 11:16 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @ Ryan

    I was a big fan of Danny Amendola and after impressing in preseason games I thought – No way some team (in that case a thin Rams squad) doesn’t pick him up.

  177. 177 Stephen said at 11:17 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Well that was absolutely brutal.

    If I can go all Morton on you guys for a second, eff stupid dumb ass Vince Young for making that retarded dream team comment, and what a stupid move by Vick flapping his trap to GQ. God I wish we could just put all our players (except for Asomugha, because he’s clearly eloquent and intelligent enough to handle any interview) under a permanent gag order.

    If I have to hear about the stupid dream team thing that was said by someone who’s not even a starter on my team from now till the end of the season, I will be estatic when Vince Young gets shipped out of here and continues his journey into NFL irrelevance.

  178. 178 Ryan said at 11:20 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    This year there is no way we keep Chad Hall if we send him to the PS, too much positive game film on him. I would love put guys like Gerald Jones and Curtis Marsh on the IR so we can keep them around the team for next year when they can make the roster.

  179. 179 Sea Eagle said at 11:22 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    The man.
    The machine.
    The (one man) dream (team).

    Mike Kafka.

  180. 180 Stephen said at 11:25 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Heres a quick game review for anyone who didn’t get to watch: Eagles run defense soft. Nate Allen gets beaten like a red headed step child in pass defense. Vick must be suffering from head trauma, still thinks its 2006 and throws 3 ints in a half of work (could have been 4).

    Mike Kafka, Rod Harper, Gerald Jones seem halfway competent in the 2nd half, manage to put up 14 points to stave off complete humiliation.

    There I think that covered everything.

  181. 181 McG said at 11:27 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @ Ryan, what’s your +/- on Greg Lloyd put on IR

    Not sure who said it, but i think the best summary of this game is something like this… Steelers executed what they’ve been doing for years (and did it well) vs. Eagles attempting to execute new stuff (on Defense especially) and some sloppy QB play… I also like the conspiracy theory that we had to throw this game to attempt to get the Dream Team label shaken off… but I doubt anyone in the Eagles org. is actually foolish enough to think that would work. All the no-nothing media types now have a “go to” statement to make about the Eagles… ugh.

  182. 182 Ryan said at 11:37 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I’m not sure Greg Lloyd is going to be ready for this season but I can’t say I’m worried about him getting signed away off the PS either…I haven’t noticed him at all yet so Tommy would have a better feel for him

  183. 183 Havana Omelet said at 11:38 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Alright I now officially hate Vince Young for saying “Dream Team”… Channel 4 here in Pgh leads off their sports report with “Dream Team has Nightmare”. I am so f—ing sick of hearing dream team from the media… It’s going to be with us all season.

  184. 184 Ryan said at 11:43 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Reporters take that shit and run all the time. If I didn’t hate him I would feel bad for Eli Manning because they got him to say he is in the same class as Brady. They put the words in his mouth then ran with it.

  185. 185 Pa_eagle said at 11:45 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    I didn’t get to watch the gam, so will wait for Tommy’s review before commenting but sounds like the same old eagles. Hopefully, there are some positives to take away from this game.

  186. 186 ian no. 2 said at 11:48 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Nate Allen didn’t play well for most of last year.. he’s shown little in the NFL. The Eagles should consider their options for the starting job, including Page or even Anderson or Adams. Allen has been anointed and people pretend he’s shown something.

    Andy got hot when someone did a hypothetical about if Matthews continues to play badly “that question is as bad as we played.” The risk when you throw a guy out there as a rookie is that when he gets beaten up in the 2nd preseason game the fans turn against him. We’ll see how he responds to this. I for one don’t think less of him because he has so little NFL experience. I have been saying Chaney should start in the middle.

    Jason Avant has a knee contusion, which can be serious. Te’o has a hammy.

    Marlon Favorite or as Merrill calls him Marion is in my view seriously bidding to make the 53.

    Castillo is fine.

    Gerald Jones is a good receiver without good measurables so he could possibly be stashed on the PS. Harper looked good again. I am rooting for Harper and Moss so I was sort of glad that Higgins returned to his usual form with the pass hitting his face mask. Hall in a deep route can’t separate and is shorter than the DBs.. he’s ok on slants.

    Toldyaso last Thursday that Lewis’ second effort leads to fumbles… but I’m glad he had that happen in PS so that he can work on it before the real games.. is running well in his first games.

    Toldyaso on that DRC whiff. Maybe hype will make the tackle for him. Vick could be a two way man because he tackles better.

    2nd team OL bounced back after a bad start last week. The practice is helping Kafka and his balls have more zip this week.

  187. 187 McG said at 11:52 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    @ Pa-eagle… good strategy. I wouldn’t get too worried about it. Some of the mistakes on defense weren’t just our guys playing bad, but roethlisberger made some good things happen for Pittsburg. When we brought pressure, he found a way to beat it. I don’t doubt for a second that this was a good thing for our defense. We had fairly good pressure from our D-line, but I wish it would have been better considering the fact that pittsburgs O-line is really kind of a Frankenstein project. Vick made some poor decisions, but the bright spot on offense seems to have been some solid O-line play. Dunlap didn’t look totally out of place this week at RT, and we appear to have 3 dynamic running backs.

  188. 188 ian no. 2 said at 11:57 PM on August 18th, 2011:

    Good news for Akeem Jordan: He played a good game.
    Bad news of AJ: Eagles may be shopping at the LB store.