Couple of Hot Topics

Posted: September 19th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 93 Comments »

Sunday night games are hard on me.  I won’t get the full review posted until late tonight, possibly Tuesday morning.  There are a couple of things worth talking about.

I’m getting a ton of questions about the goal line play that got blown up.  No one missed an assignment.  No one made a mistake.  We tried to use a “sucker play” on the Falcons DT.  He didn’t bite and made us pay.

The idea is to leave him unblocked initially.  Vick fakes a handoff to a FB/RB to his right.  That’s where the DT is.  The DT should see the run action and attack that back.  LT Jason Peters pulls to that side and is going to execute a trap block on the DT.

While that goes on, Vick is to pivot and hand the ball to the deeper back (McCoy) on a run that will go up the middle.  There’s a lot of action, but the play is actually a quick hitter.  You want to get McCoy up the field quickly.

The play failed because DT Peraia Jerry paid no attention to the fake and attacked Vick.  Simple as that.

The play should not have been called…at that time.  The play is a good play.  We ran it earlier for a nice gain.  The problem is that football is situational.  The Falcons have quick DTs.  They like to attack upfield.  Near the goal line, the DTs are going to be really aggressive.  I don’t know why Jerry was so keyed in on Vick and not the RBs, but he was.  Jerry blew up the play and created chaos.  Near the goal line you have to be careful about being too fancy.  Influence (fancy word for sucker) plays can be very effective.  The shovel pass has worked well for us over the years.  We were close enough to the goal line that there was no reason to get fancy.  Dumb decision.

* * * *

I re-watched the 1st half.  Casey Matthews had a solid showing.  He was in on quite a few tackles.  I think the Gamebook had him with 5 total tackles in the 1st half.  He did get blocked/lost on a couple of plays.

There was a run play early that looked awful.  Casey looped way outside to his left.  Live, I didn’t know what the hell he was doing. Checking out the replay, it was a run blitz.  The DL all slanted inside and the LBs looped wide.  The Falcons had the perfect play call and burned us for 15 yards.  Run blitzes are just like pass blitzes.  Sometimes you burn the offense, sometimes they burn you.

Jamar Chaney didn’t play well.  Very disappointing to see him struggling.  I know people are going to scream that he shouldn’t be at SAM, but that has nothing to do with him missing tackles and blowing simple assignments.  Not sure what’s up with Jamar.

Cullen Jenkins was terrific in the 1st half.  I think I’m going to enjoy watching him this year.  A lot.

No answers yet on the TE issues.  That’s a complex issue that deserves a lengthy write-up and not just a quick blurb.

* * * * *

Shady McCoy is 5th in the NFL in rushing, 12 yards off the lead.  The blocking is getting better, but still needs a lot of work.  Can’t wait til we see a game where the running game is lights out.  Shady could put up some monster numbers.

* * * * *

Tweet of the Night from Sunday:

“How long til we trade Kafka for a 2nd round pick?”

Mike did play well.  I didn’t know what to expect, but he sure looked like an NFL QB to me.  I hope we don’t see him again anytime soon, but if we do…I’ve got confidence in him now.  I think his teammates also have confidence in him.

* * * * *

Dunta Robinson?  20 years ago, I’d have told you that was good, tough football.  Times have changed with what we now know about concussions and long term damage.  He should be suspended for a game.  He lowered his head and attacked the head of a receiver.  There was intent.  Dunta didn’t learn from last year.  Suspend him.  Just not for a game vs NYG/DAL/WAS.


93 Comments on “Couple of Hot Topics”

  1. 1 Eric Weaver said at 5:28 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Tommy,

    I think I know what play you’re talking about. On the replay I said Matthews and Fokou going wide to the left and I’m like wth?! you both completely read the play wrong.

  2. 2 Anonymous said at 5:35 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    It looked terrible, live. First time I re-played it I was like…what the hell? Then I noticed all the DL slanting inside. Light bulb went on. If ATL had run off tackle, we’d have destroyed it. They went inside and killed us for 15.

  3. 3 Anonymous said at 5:39 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Usually when I watch a great running back, I’m amazed at his ability to make an exciting cut that leaves the potential tackler grabbing for air. But that usually happens downfield. Last night, I was amazed at Shady’s ability to turn plays that were sure fire losses into big gainers. Time after time he weaved through defensive linemen like he was weaving through a minefield and he not only came out unscathed but he then turned those seeming disasters in to 5, 7 and even 10 yard gains.

    Shady will never be Westbrook. Heck, nobody will every be Westbrook. But I think that the Eagles have something very special in this young back.

  4. 4 Anonymous said at 4:52 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    I used to say Shady will never be Westbrook too. Now I’m realizing that he might be better. The numbers so far certainly back that up.

  5. 5 Anonymous said at 5:42 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Sorry if this was touches on elsewhere I searched and didn’t see it. I know that on the final 4th down play we wanted to get everyone organized and on the same page, but the 2 Minute warning was the play right before then. We had that entire break to get the next few plays situated and called, and using that timeout to regroup for 4th down prevented us from being able to get the ball back with enough time.
    I know that there were many other big plays and momentum swings, but these are the mistakes that are purely in the hands of our team and coaches, and can’t be influenced by the opponent, and these errors seem to continue to happen. I really do think if we had about a minute left on the clock we still could have had a chance to score. Just didn’t maximize our chances to win by calling that TO. What did you think Tommy?

  6. 6 Anonymous said at 9:19 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    I’d imagine Andy was thinking that his best chance at winning was making sure his inexperienced QB was ready. I tend to agree. If Maclin makes that catch, like he does 99 out of 100 times, then the clock doesn’t really matter and we are in good shape. Whatever gives us the best shot of making that happen is better than trying to allow for a few more seconds after it fails.

  7. 7 Jim Larsen said at 5:47 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Tommy,

    I’ll be curious to hear your thoughts on our redzone defense. We’ve largely changed personnel, we’ve changed scheme/philosophy/coaching etc… And we couldn’t beg for a stop. Is there a flaw from the top down, or are the players just not executing?

    Any word on Vince Young? Is he even practicing? I was impressed with Kafka, but from a talent perspective I’d love to see Vince at 100% and getting a full week of work with the 1s.

    On Shady…this kid is turning nothing into something (and sometimes something big) regularly. I loved Westbrook, but Shady seems to be on a whole other level of good.

  8. 8 Anonymous said at 8:46 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    While I was disappointed with our red zone D, I think it is important to realize that the guys hauling in the catches were two premier performers. One is a future hall of famer, and one is widely acknowledged as one of the best WR in the league. Both were perfectly thrown balls, and both came on 3rd down. If those aren’t Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez, we might’ve won.

  9. 9 Jim Larsen said at 11:50 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    I agree with this. Tony G is AWESOME at not showing his routes. That’s tough to impossible for a vet to defend let alone our corps of linebackers. And while we won’t face a Tony G every week, we have Witten twice and Fred Davis is a freak in his own right. TE is a concern regardless…

    On the WR…yeah, we didn’t give up much to wideouts all night, and at some point Roddy White is going to get his. It’s just tough to see something that plagued us last year remaining

  10. 10 Anonymous said at 5:56 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    I wonder if when Andy goes to pull into a parking spot, instead of just making the easy move of slowing down and making a standard turn and going in with the front of the car, Andy speeds up hits two donuts, brings the car up on 2 wheels and then whips it around in one motion and backs it snuggly into the spot?

  11. 11 Anonymous said at 6:12 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Post of the day!

  12. 12 Anonymous said at 7:28 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Classic.

  13. 13 Anonymous said at 10:29 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Awesome!

  14. 14 Dewey said at 6:06 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Gotta say I’m getting very bullish on the team. I think they are coming to concepts with the new defensive technique. I think Vick is looking much more sustainable. Asomugha is a true stud, he just blankets people.

    The team needs Allen to feel confident in the knee, and Watkins at LG would be a big upgrade IMO.

    All that said, my main gist of a post is it’s a team learning new schemes on defense as a whole, on the offensive line and has safeties starting who won’t be at the end of the year.

  15. 15 Anonymous said at 6:12 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    I definitely feel like this team can come together. I’m very excited for Nate to get healthy. I remember after week 1 talking to a friend about how in the first couple of weeks it’s fun to see the emotional roller coaster for all teams. After week 1 Ravens fans were probably on top of the world and then they come crashing back down to earth.

    Long-term I think this team is really going to grow the next 8 weeks. My biggest concern right now is the LBs and Safeties.

  16. 16 Jim Larsen said at 11:55 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Really hoped that Page would have followed his strong game with another one…but that didn’t happen.

    Coleman looked great in the preseason, and then not so much last week or this week.

    Chaney didn’t play well either.

    Both of those positions are weak spots that I hope come together in the coming weeks. Nate Allen’s return would be welcome…and the LBs…who knows?!?!

  17. 17 Jim Larsen said at 11:53 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Good comment!

    I was as disappointed as anyone with the loss…but it was hard not to get REALLY excited at the potential this team showed last night.

  18. 18 Anonymous said at 12:53 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    That’s basically the gist of what I came away with. I got a really rare opportunity to see an incredible hip-hop group (Black Star) live for free during the second half last night, so I only caught the final few drives on the radio. Haven’t rewatched the DVR yet so my takeaway is not as nuanced, but …

    Seemed like that was basically Atlanta best shot, and we stood in there and took it, and nearly won anyway. It feels like that Bears game last year, where we lost, and we respect the opponent, they’re still one of the NFC’s best. But I’m not scared to play them again later.

    We had four turnovers to their 1.
    We outgained them 447-318 or whatever it was.
    Vick missed the crucial fourth quarter.

    Those aren’t excuses; we had chances to win anyway. They are things that are unlikely to repeat should we ever play again.

    These Eagles look like if they ever get it to where they consistently understand their own schemes, and they can stay healthy … OMG. They have more weapons than they know what to do with, and passing against us, at least to WRs, is going to be a bish all year.

    Atlanta did the exact things it had to do to score on us from what I could tell. They’re built to run and utilize the TE. As for their defense, sounds like we really only stopped ourselves.

  19. 19 Anonymous said at 6:16 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Tommy,

    As someone with a “scout’s eye,” what’s your take on Juan Castillo so far? Does he look over his head? From what you’ve written the last two weeks, his schemes seem to be decent.

  20. 20 Anonymous said at 6:53 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    I really need to carefully check out the 2nd half since that is the most critical time in Juan’s young career as DC.

    I don’t think we’re having coaching/schematic problems. Execution errors and mistakes are hurting us. Part of that blame is on Juan and the assistants for not getting through to the players, but look around the league. There is virtually no good defense right now. Cam Newton has 2 400-yd games in 2 starts. This is a crazy time in the NFL.

  21. 21 Anonymous said at 6:16 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Before the season started I was trying to figure if the Eagles were a 10-6 or 12-4 team. Pulling out a win in a game like last night’s is the type of thing I expect of a 12 win team.

  22. 22 Anonymous said at 6:55 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Winning last night would have been huge, under the circumstances. I still think we can be a 12-win team. Last night just ate up some of our fudge room.

  23. 23 Anonymous said at 8:51 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    12 wins would definitely depend on Vick’s concussion and recovery period.

  24. 24 Anonymous said at 6:19 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    The problem that I have with matthews is his seeming inability to make anything happen. He only seems to make a routine tackles when there’s no traffic i.e. when Jenkins blew up the line on a short yardage play that allowed Casey to have a clean shot at the tackler. I know he’s young, but he plays very pedestrian. He isn’t strong, physical or fast. He doesn’t play with attitude. Those aren’t things that time will fix, imo. It may not always be his fault that a run goes for 10 yards, but if he were a more instinctive and active player, he’d be around the ball to limit those gains or redirect ball carriers. He’s too frequently nowhere to be found.

    that said, they can still win with him as long as the offense produces. The NFL has become such an offensive league that you can’t beat high octane offenses purely running the football unless your D is completely a shut-down D. You have to be able to score 30 points to beat NE, SD, Phi, GB, NO etc. All it takes is a few stops on running plays during the game to set up 3rd and longs, we saw last night during the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Now, this team isn’t going to be able to keep teams from scoring on short fields, but it will be difficult to consistently put together long drives because at some point you’ll have throw the football. ATL simply made great plays for TDs on short fields to hang around and capitalized on turnovers. If the Eagles don’t turn the ball over they way they did, that game looks like a blow-out despite having the worst group of LBs in the league not making plays. The real issue with the LBs last night was not being able to hang with Gonzalez.

  25. 25 Anonymous said at 6:56 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    I would disagree that Matthews isn’t strong. He stood up and subsequently took down Michael Turner on a screen pass after Turner had bowled over the cover guy. Matthews just needs time.

  26. 26 Anonymous said at 7:01 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Sure, he’ll make a tackle against a strong RB occasionally, but he can’t consistently fight of blocks and make tackles. I’m not normally one to give up on players quickly, but I get the sense that more time will just let more people see how average he is. Hope i’m wrong…

  27. 27 Anonymous said at 8:43 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Matthews MO is that he is an instinctive player, I think there is too much going on for him to show any yet, He looks like he is trying very hard to be assignment sound and not make any FUBARs.

  28. 28 Anonymous said at 10:25 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    He has already progressed from specific, “he is running out of his lane assignments,” to vague “inability to make anything happen” criticisms. That is a pretty big jump for just a few games. Don’t give up on him yet.

  29. 29 the guy said at 1:29 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Yep. We knew going in he isn’t a superb athlete. His expected strengths will take time and experience to show, if they ever do. Worrying because he struggled against Turner and Gonzalez in his second ever NFL game as a 4th round rookie is unfair and premature.

  30. 30 Anonymous said at 12:27 PM on September 20th, 2011:

    I see it a little differently. Its exactly because he’s not an athlete and wasn’t projected to be a true NFL MIKE as a mid-to-late round project that you don’t give him the benefit of the doubt. You don’t expect those types of players to be significant contributors. Most of those selections fail. I think your baseline assumption should be that they actually aren’t that good until proven otherwise, not the other way around. He’s getting that chance right now so we’ll see what happens.

    Anyhow, I don’t want to sit here and rail on the guy all day. We can agree to disagree for now because it is early in his career. If he progresses week to week I’ll be happy. May be we can revisit this near the end of the year when we’re making the playoff push!

  31. 31 Anonymous said at 12:19 PM on September 20th, 2011:

    Not necessarily a progression. His lack of play making ability can still stem from not being in position. The former is just a diagnosis of why the latter is occurring. In fact, I’d rather it just be an assignment issue because that is fixable whereas play-making ability is much more about the person.

    I know it’s early, but he doesn’t pass the eye ball test. Does any one actually see anything that makes you go raise an eyebrow when the guy is on the field? Same thing with Matt McCoy, Sean Considine, Daniel Te’o Nesheim, Chris Gocong etc.. There players that when you watch them play are not impressing and aren’t play-makers. That’s how he comes across. I’ve certainly been wrong before and I hope I’m wrong again on this one, but I’m not optimistic about him.

  32. 32 Anonymous said at 3:40 PM on September 20th, 2011:

    What alternative are/were you advocating?

  33. 33 Anonymous said at 5:43 PM on September 20th, 2011:

    At this point there don’t seem to be many other options other than shuffle guys around. I’m not sure who is available to pick up, but by the time they get used to the scheme we are several more games into the season with a marginal player. I think either Tulloch or Ruud would’ve been a more safe selection for a year while they evaluated Matthews. Even Howard looks more active than Matthews right now. But those are moves that should’ve been made in the off-season, imo.

    Looks like they are stuck with him right now unless they want to do another year’s worth of LB shuffle. That certainly doesn’t mean he can’t viewed as a liability, though.

  34. 34 Anonymous said at 6:48 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Was it me or was Coleman consistently late on coverage? I didn’t think he was reading things right.

  35. 35 Anonymous said at 6:54 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Allow me to solve a piece of the mystery re: “Not sure what’s up with Jamar.” It’s a really simple explanation to a really simple question:

    He isn’t good enough at football to be a starting LB. Neither is Fokou. Neither is Mathews. There’s no mystery here. They aren’t good. They’re liabilities. Their presence makes the Eagles a worse team. The question isn’t whether they’ll get it together and become acceptable. The question is whether the rest of the defense will become good enough to compensate for their presence. That’s it. That’s the situation as it exists at LB on this team.

  36. 36 Anonymous said at 10:28 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Wow, that was definitive. I guess we found our answer.

    But…maybe just out of curiosity, I’ll see what these comments down below say too.

  37. 37 Alex Karklins said at 7:08 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Does anybody else think that Dunta Robinson was in Maclin’s head on that 4th down play? The fact that Robinson was allowed to finish the game really makes me angry. If players can get ejected for throwing a punch, why can’t they get the boot for doing something far more dangerous? I would support a video review process for ejection calls to make sure that the officials get it right, so that players aren’t wrongly sent off (like when a player is pushed into an opponent, etc.). Letting Robinson stay on the field was a very bad idea, given the fact that he obviously learned nothing from last year. He’s a danger to himself and others out there. I’m hoping he gets some time off from work to think about it.

  38. 38 Steven Dileo said at 8:49 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    No. Maclin didn’t shy away from the ball or brace for a hit. He just didn’t react quick enough for the ball. Two times prior he had launched head first for a first down.

  39. 39 Alex Karklins said at 10:06 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Yeah, you’re right. It’s just one of those mysterious drops. And Robinson gets a big fine but no suspension.

  40. 40 Anonymous said at 7:42 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    According to the gamebook, Matthews had 4 solo tackles and 3 assists for the game, not 5 solo tackles before half. Chaney certainly had a worse game than Matthews, but I am still struggling to understand what you are seeing that I am missing with Matthews that leads you to say he had a solid game. He still looks very timid, gets blocked out of way to many plays, get caught up in garbage, and gets fooled by misdirection. This game was lost because of our LBs and our safeties.

  41. 41 Anonymous said at 9:04 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    You are right on the tackle number. Sloppy writing on my part. Fixed that in the original post.

    I said Casey had a solid 1st half. I stand by that. Haven’t finished with the 2nd half yet so I can’t comment on that.

  42. 42 Jim said at 11:05 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    After re-watching the game, I also feel like Casey had a pretty good first half. He also seemed to play pretty well in the second half aside from the long Turner run and the Rodgers run in the red zone. It looked like he was at least acceptable at getting off of blocks and his coverage looked solid.

    Also since no one seems to have brought it up, what were your thoughts about the long field goal attempt. Surprised the Falcons didn’t send someone back to try a return.

  43. 43 Anonymous said at 4:59 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    I’m also interested in your opinions of the long field goal attempt. I used to scream at the screen hoping Andy would let Akers try to break the record, but it’s pretty obvious that this kid isn’t even close the the kind of range he’d need to make a 63 yarder.

  44. 44 Anders Jensen said at 9:22 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    He actually have the legs strength, but kicking +50 yards FG is as much mental as it is leg strength

  45. 45 Anonymous said at 10:31 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    I can’t help but wonder if you are seeing what you are looking for because you are looking for it. The defense wasn’t as good as it needs to be, but there is plenty of blame to go around, and I think the turnovers by the offense deserve a heaped helping.

  46. 46 Anonymous said at 11:55 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    You’re asking a fair question, but I have a hard time blaming the offense when ultimately they put up 31 points, had a 10 point lead partway into the 4th quarter, and the two touchdowns that led to the win for the falcons were a result of 80 yard drives (88 yards on the second one if you count the holding call). You can also add the 5 TDs allowed in 5 attempts in the redzone.

    As for Matthews and “seeing what I am looking for,” I am really looking forward to the DGR. If I am missing something, I would happily admit to being wrong. Admittedly, I didn’t go back and watch the game multiple times, so my reaction is based entirely on the live feed during the game while I was angry, but the times I focused on Matthews I came away unimpressed and underwhelmed. Like I said, maybe I am simply missing something and hopefully Tommy can point it out in the DGR.

  47. 47 Anonymous said at 2:19 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Things definitely fell apart after Vick left. Oddly, the defense seemed to go limp.

    Until that point, however, I don’t think they were doing that badly. After the first drive, they gave up some runs, but nothing that hurt us when they had normal field position with which to work.

    The offense scored 31 points, but they also gave the ball to the Falcons with a short field repeatedly. For a few series on either side of the half I was half hoping we would have Vick do a Cunninghamesque surprise punt before we turned it over.

    I agree that the safeties were a weakness on defense and the LBs were not a strength, but I think saying they lost us the game unfairly excuses the offense.

  48. 48 Steven Dileo said at 8:48 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    How do I post my reaction of when the Maclin dropped the 4th down pass? Me slitting my wrist might be a little to gory.

  49. 49 Steven Dileo said at 8:52 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    If it wasn’t for that one 60 yard run by Turner. I think Chaney is to blame for that. He was held to less than 55 yards prior to that run.

  50. 50 Steven Dileo said at 8:53 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    How do we allow less than 200 yards passing, get 2 interceptions, 4 sacks, and still give up 35 points?

  51. 51 Anonymous said at 9:05 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    The Falcons made critical plays. We didn’t. Give them some credit. Matt Ryan was clutch. He didn’t have a good overall game, but came up big when the opportunities were there.

  52. 52 Anders Jensen said at 9:49 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    They had 2 TDs on a very short field after 2 turnovers and a TD after the long run by Turner.

  53. 53 the guy said at 1:50 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Not to mention the short field after the bad punt.

  54. 54 ike said at 9:51 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    S-H-O-R-T F-I-E-L-D

  55. 55 Steve H said at 9:36 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Can’t cover TE’s, soft run defense at times, poor red zone defense, struggling linebackers. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

    There are positives to be taken away from this game, but honestly the amount of ground we need to make up by the end of the season is a bit daunting. You take a look at a team like New England which is chugging along in super bowl form (good luck us trying to cover their 2 tight end formations, we can’t even stop 1 tight end) and we’re still bumbling around and “learning” and its obvious that the light needs to come on in several different areas by the end of the season.

    Thats not to say I don’t think it can happen, and to be honest I anticipated that the early part of the season would be when we would struggle, but wow we really pooped the bed on this loss.

  56. 56 Anonymous said at 10:01 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    As a point of reference…GB with Dom Capers, Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews, BJ Raji, AJ Hawk, and company…they are allowing 476 yards per game. That’s 30th in the NFL. 31st is the Pats and Bill Belichick. They’re giving up 479 yards a game.

    We’re giving up 326.

  57. 57 Anonymous said at 10:35 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Wow. That is unreal. Imagine having read that prediction a few weeks ago.

  58. 58 Anonymous said at 2:51 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Tommy, that is a great post because being a Diehard Eagles fans (otherwise why would I be on this site?) I get carried away focusing on all the Eagles flaws. Watching the Patriots this Sunday at first I was blown away by their great play calling, time management, talented tight ends, and of course their ridiculous QB play. Digging a little deeper I realized they had no pass rush, a porous secondary, and a litany of backup RB’s. Point is the Patriots are considered by most the best team in the NFL, but when scrutinized even they have serious issues. Lets hope the Eagles can overcome their flaws and win despite not being perfect in all phases.

  59. 59 Christopher Miller said at 3:03 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    It is a good reminder that even superman has kryptonite to worry about, but how much of that is that the Patsies and Packers are scoring pretty much at will and might be playing soft with a lead. Still, it is not like Miami and Carolina are expected to be offensive juggernauts.

  60. 60 Morton said at 3:20 PM on September 20th, 2011:

    Except that the Pats and the Packers are making stops in the red zone. Yards per game are less important than the ultimate defensive stat: POINTS per game.

  61. 61 ike said at 10:04 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Regarding the blown non-replay by NBC . . . if anyone can find a link to that play, watch Kelvin Hayden’s reaction.

    His body language — and those of the nearby Falcons was — “damn, almost an INT.”

    On Turner’s back-breaking 4th quarter 60 yard run, the fault lies with Jarrad Page — not the LBs.

    I’m pretty sure the Eagles were in a nickle package. The gap [interstate sized] that Turner ran through took him right past Page. Page took a bad angle to the point of attack.

    As for Jamar Chaney, here’s the question: Is he going to be as good as Keith Bullock — the longtime Titans SLB who made a living shutting down TEs and leading the Titans in tackles during the ’00s.

    Bullock was a 1st round pick. Chaney a 7th.

    Maybe, as one of the commenters above noted, the Eagles just won’t be a shutdown defense because their LBs and safties are — at present — a bunch of low round picks. They were picked there for a reason.

    With J-Pack injured, will we get a DTN citing this Sunday? If so, who gets knocked off the roster?

    Frankly, the way P-Hunt was (not) used by Washburn and Castillo, there’s no reason to add any DEs to the roster.

  62. 62 Jim Larsen said at 11:59 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    They brought it up at BGN, but it bears repeating:

    Why are NFL coaches relying on the producers of the television broadcast to make decisions related to the game?

  63. 63 Anders Jensen said at 10:15 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Dunta only got 40k fine, 10k less then last years hit…..
    Wonder why the rules are even there if they dont intend to punish people for illegal hits

  64. 64 Anonymous said at 11:43 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Last year’s was reduced to 25K after an appeal.

  65. 65 Anders Jensen said at 9:24 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Still, originally they thought last years hit was worse then this, even tho he is a repeat offender now.

  66. 66 Anonymous said at 10:24 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    I’ll take this game with a grain of salt – in the words of Chris Collingsworth, it was a “crazy game.”
    Consider that:
    1) 2 of Atlanta’s TDs were on highlight-reel catches, both made on 3rd down.
    2) The Vick fumble bounced perfectly up to a d-lineman such that he’s able to rumble some 70 yards on the return.
    3) Ryan gets knocked around like a pin cushion, but doesn’t miss a single play, while Vick goes down for the count after an inadvertent fluke hit to the chin from Herr-dog.
    4) Vick’s non-interception is ruled an interception – and we don’t get a good replay showing that until 10 minutes after the fact.
    5) And, of course, Maclin’s drop – after he goes a WR-of-the-week high of 13 catches for 171 with 2 TDs.

    If just one of those goes the other way, we’re looking at least OT, if not an outright W.

    Should have been a 35-17 W, but just wasn’t meant to be.

    Having said that though, I think the one big thing I look back on is in the second quarter, we’re 2nd-and-1 on the Atlanta 3 and we can’t get at least a first down there and we have to settle for a FG. Ugh.

  67. 67 Anonymous said at 10:43 PM on September 19th, 2011:

    Words of wisdom.

  68. 68 Anonymous said at 4:16 PM on September 20th, 2011:

    Let it be 🙂

  69. 69 Anonymous said at 1:25 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Think we ought to mix in some no-huddle offense next week?

  70. 70 Anonymous said at 2:59 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    If he ends up playing, Kafka is impressive running the no huddle. He seems comfortable making adjustments at the line of scrimmage and may be able to catch the Giants off guard. Also, saying the Giants defense isn’t deep is like saying Jenna Jameson is a little promiscuous…..understatements of the year. It’s a chance to wear down New York’s thin roster that aggressively rushes the QB.

  71. 71 Anonymous said at 3:52 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Speaking of Jenna Jameson…
    1. Even she is not allowed to use JJ, and
    2. Did you notice the new commenting feature that allows you to add an image to your comment?

  72. 72 Steve H said at 2:15 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    I loved the play where both Giants defenders fell down while just standing there when they realized they weren’t going to get lined up correctly near the goal line. Honestly, aside from looking like turds, whats to stop a player from doing that anytime they please to slow down the hurry up? I didn’t see anyone do it against NE week one or two but the Giants got on that pretty quickly.

  73. 73 Anonymous said at 3:53 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    The player has to come out for a play afterwards. Of course, if your goal is to get a substitution in…

  74. 74 Steve H said at 2:20 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Right now in pretend football, I am .26 points behind the guy Im playing and the only person left playing is Ahmad Bradshaw on my team. So I really want the Giants to lose, but I really need Bradshaw to run for about 15 more yards. Not too much to ask right?

  75. 75 Anonymous said at 2:36 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Seems reasonable.

  76. 76 the guy said at 2:21 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    I didn’t notice this right away, but check out the Eagles scoring drive info.

    * Drive #1: 12 plays, 84 yards, 7 mins. Looks solid. Nice mix of plays. Possibly saved near GL by defensive offsides.

    * Drive #2: FG. 7 plays, 42 yards, 3 mins. Started on ATL side of field due to bad punt. Only one play 10+ yards. Unable to get 2nd or 3rd and 1 at the 3yd line.

    * Drive #3: 4 plays, 70 yards, 2 mins. 59 yards came on 2 big plays by Shady and Maclin.

    * Drive #4: 4 plays, 22 yards, 2 mins. Short field thanks to Asante’s pick. Vick and Shady get 20 of 22 yards on 3 runs.

    * Drive #5: 5 plays, 20 yards, 2 mins. Short field thanks to terrible punt from ATL’s end zone. This is the drive Vick got hurt. Drive possibly saved by roughing the passer call, otherwise would have been 3rd and goal at the 16.

    So 3 of the Eagles scores came on short fields, 2 due to bad punts. Only two long drives, one a methodical type and the other based on big plays. And two of the TDs might have only happened thanks to defensive penalties.

    Like the Falcons, Eagles had a short field for 3 of their 5 scoring drives. The only difference was the Eagles couldn’t punch the ball in on one of them.

  77. 77 Jon Blank said at 2:35 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    At least the Giants look crappy, since the Eagles are playing them for last place in the division next week.

  78. 78 Anonymous said at 3:04 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Jon, I know being pessimistic and hating on Juan Castillo is your MO, but the Eagles are 1-1. Probably a little early to right them off as only competing for last place in the division. Did you expect them to finish undefeated? Preseason, I had the Eagles going 11-5 while losing that game to Atlanta.

  79. 79 Anonymous said at 3:56 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Or… Andrew Luck, here we come!

  80. 80 Jon Blank said at 5:17 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    What about my statement is incorrect? Eagles, Cowgirls and Giants are all 1-1. After next week 1 or 2 of the teams in the division will be 1-2 and in last place. Therefore, the loser of the Eagles game will be in last place. I didn’t say they would finish there, just that they were playing for it next week.

    I don’t blame Juan for being in over his head, its the man in charge that I lost faith in a few years ago.

  81. 81 Anonymous said at 2:38 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Listend to parts of Ike Reese & Anthony Gargano (sp) interviewing Foku today. It was interesting because Anthony asked Foku if he thought Casey Matthews could play at MLB. Thought it was weird to put him on the spot and ask him if his teammate was good enough. Oddly, Foku did not sound very convincing at all in his response, but I think maybe at first he was caught off guard by the question. Ike jumped in and for about 2 minutes gave a bunch of reasons why he thought Casey Matthews was completely out of position and that Chaney was a better answer than Matthews. The whole time I was thinking that Foku is probably not the best guy to be commenting, since his job is prob not too safe.

    Anyway, what does all of the above tell us….a whole lot of nothing. Just was bored during this game here and figured I’d fill the time.

  82. 82 Anonymous said at 2:43 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    p.s. being on this msg board during eagles games has ruined my credibility with my significant other. I recently was giving my lady crap for wasting her time watching some garbage tv show like the kardashians and she responded with, “yeah, this from the guy who watches eagles games while commenting on a msg board to a bunch of guys he doesn’t know.” #losing

  83. 83 Anonymous said at 3:59 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Just tell her that most of the other commenters on here are female. It won’t help your argument, but it will be fun to see the stages of anger progress.

  84. 84 Anonymous said at 4:04 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    I’d go with “well its Iggles Blitz or porn sweetie”

  85. 85 Anonymous said at 5:06 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Go out to a bar to watch the game and use a smart phone to browse IgglesBlitz. Basically, replace her with draft beer.

  86. 86 Mac said at 2:21 PM on September 20th, 2011:

    Udder nonsense… though I caught flak for the same thing on Sunday by my GF (who is a ravens fan). I give her crap all the time about reality show tv… My excuse was that all of my lame real life friends are not Eagles fans. Even if they were they wouldn’t match the passion of the fan base on this site.

  87. 87 Anonymous said at 2:52 PM on September 20th, 2011:

    You guys talk to girls??? Wow, I didn’t know people like that were allowed on message boards.

  88. 88 Anonymous said at 3:46 PM on September 20th, 2011:

    Don’t worry, most of us are dealing in hypotheticals here, I thought that was implied.

  89. 89 Christopher Miller said at 3:37 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    A day later and I feel really encouraged by this game. It was a game that we knew would be a battle, and we pretty much had the game in hand when Vick went down despite some bad mistakes. I am really not sold on the combination of wide 9 + our LB’s. I would feel a lot better if Matthews was a more physical force in the middle. I worry that he will end up being merely adequate filling that big hole between the DT’s and we will not bring any serious competition in at that spot next year to challenge him.

    Loving Jenkins so far…if he can play like this in all 16 games, he might end up being the MVP of our big ticket free agent acquisitions.

  90. 90 Anders Jensen said at 9:26 AM on September 20th, 2011:

    Outside of 1 long run, the run defense was good enough for me. I believe they had held Turner to 55 yards when he broke off for the 61 yarder.

  91. 91 Mac said at 2:31 PM on September 20th, 2011:

    I have to say that I am NOT on the season in the tank without Vick bandwagon. I am eager to see what Kafka can do, and if VY is healthy… well I wouldn’t mind that either. Having said that, I do hope that VY or Vick will be on the field for my revenge game of the season when Cutler brings his mud-wrestlers to town to play in a real stadium.

  92. 92 Anonymous said at 2:55 PM on September 20th, 2011:

    Tommy,

    What’s your take on the Giants little Flopapalooza?

  93. 93 Anonymous said at 3:53 PM on September 20th, 2011:

    On another note Vick still has problems with the blitz…the pick that he threw was due to the blitz….@Tommy – any idea how many times ATL blitzed and how did Vick fare against that? Also mcnabborkolb.com has a great article on our rush defense against ATL…Tommy any chance we see a change in LB’s for the Jints game?