Vicks Words Could Come Back To Bite Us
Posted: October 1st, 2011 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 37 Comments »Mike Vick called out the refs for not protecting him enough. In future games the refs will be watching him more closely. They’ll also be watching the opposing QB more closely. That could be a bad thing. Our DL are getting good pressure and hitting the QB. The last thing we want is the officials putting a microscope on the opposing QB.
I re-watched part of the Atlanta game last night. There were a couple of questionable non-calls on hits of Matt Ryan. Our defensive line has gotten away with a few things this season. There was Cullen Jenkins helmet-to-helmet hit that didn’t draw a flag. Jason Babin plays to the echo of the whistle and that will draw a penalty some time this year. He put Ryan on the ground after the ball was out in the ATL game, but wasn’t flagged. Ryan was begging for a call. Trent Cole is susceptible to getting flags because he’s so relentless in going after the QB that he isn’t always playing under control.
We could draw a flag or two down the road due to Vick’s comments. Sunday will be interesting in that regard. SF has allowed 11 sacks already. We match up well with their OL and Alex Smith could get hit quite a few times. Will all the hits be legal? Will they be flagged? SF has a bad offense. I hope we don’t extend drives for them with some yellow flags, especially if they are overly-protective calls.
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I’m glad Nnamdi Asomugha is addressing the criticism coming his way. I think we need him to understand the pressure-cooker that Eagles football is. This ain’t the Raiders. Every play of every game is going to be scrutinized. Asomugha is learning that and dealing with it. The question about him playing zone is getting over-stated. Nnamdi’s INT vs the Falcons came in zone coverage. Looked fine there. The TD he gave up last week in zone…Nnamdi was 2 inches from getting a hand on the ball. It isn’t as if he’s completely lost and receivers are just running wide open in his area.
NA is a class act, on the field and with his significant charity work off the field. He may end up being the Eagles version of Dr. J.
This is a lot more pass attempts against NA than he is used to. A little rusty making the play but Tommy’s right, definitely been close. I think if he continues to get tested, we could have 3 guys with 10+ sacks and 2 guys with 5+ int’s.
I’m looking forward to seeing what this unit can do with DRC healthy. I’m hoping to see a lot of Nnamdi in the “Charles Woodson” role as a LB/S/CB mix in the nickel and dime.
I don’t thinkVick’s words will come back to bite us, if anything there will be more flags coming our way..
I hope you’re right.
Interesting angle you brought up, Tommy, regarding the potentially negative consequences Vick’s words. I wasn’t thrilled about it in any case. I feel like anyone calling out the refs does very little to actually help himself; it just buys him some ill will from all the other refs, who, I’m sure think that refs are martyred every single game.
Off topic, but every time I’m feeling angst about the Eagles’ personnel decisions, gameday coaching, and staff…I simply watch a quarter of Penn State football, and I feel lots better.
I don’t like to criticize college kids, as almost all of them play their hearts out on Saturdays. But, Rob Bolden is awful. He may be a great kid, and seems like a good athlete, but he is missing on throws that competent high school quarterbacks make. Get him out of there.
I wish the Eagles personnel guys watched Penn State football.
Maybe they would have drafted Sean Lee or Navarro Bowman in 2010 if they had watched any PSU games that year, and now we would actually have a stud linebacker on the defense.
It does frustrate me on several levels, due to the fact that we loved Lee, he is a Penn State guy, and the fact that we actually had the pick used to select him.
I’m all for a policy of not taking players with a prior serious knee injury, but we love those kind of guys, so its harder to swallow that the knee was the reason we passed.
Some day, we’re going to have three stud LBs, and we’re going to look back on these years saying “remember when we had three JAGs out there?”
Just like we do now re: the WR corps.
Even more than Lee, the move I don’t understand is passing on Lance Briggs a few years ago, when he was an UFA. Never made sense to me.
Morton – you’ve been making some pretty great points recently, but I just have to ask – do you get alerts every time a post on here can be tangentially related back to Sean Lee or JPP?
Lee had the ACL concern that scared off some teams. Hasn’t been an issue so far in the NFL.
Bowman had major red flags coming out of PSU. Teams feared drafting Bowman and his good friend Mary Jane. Hasn’t been a problem yet. I hope it stays that way, but he had issues at PSU.
Morton
We all know by now that the Eagles should have drafted Sean Lee!! With all your complaints I have never seen you praisin the eagles FO for drafting Shady McCoy who might be the best player in the NFL within the next two years. Just saying…
Well, Bowman, at the time, didn’t fit the defense we ran. At least I don’t think he did. He was far too small and even watching Penn State, I thought he was very limited.
In this defense, yeah, he’d probably be a much better fit.
Robert Bolden is awful right now. That’s partially on him and part on the PSU staff. Bolden has skills, but there is a combination of poor coaching and poor development by him. Who is the last QB PSU really developed? Daryl Clark and Michael Robinson were runners and leaders that could also be solid passers, but neither was considered a serious NFL prospect at QB.
Days like today make me want this to be JoePa’s final year. I don’t enjoy watching PSU right now, even when we win. The games are so poorly played that it is painful.
Collins is easily the last great QB prospect. Paterno just doesn’t care much about QBs, despite it obviously being the single most important position to football success. Paterno just doesn’t want one player being above any others. Jay Paterno has no experience with anything and if he was as good a coach as his father says he is, he’d have a job somewhere else.
Tommy, I read a story years back that said Archie Manning actually gave a call to Paterno about Peyton going there and Paterno essentially said, “no, thanks.” Did you ever hear that?
No, I don’t recall that story. Doesn’t sound like Joe.
Joe has gone after a ton of big QBs. Most just go elsewhere. Used to be that we didn’t throw the ball enough. Now we just don’t throw it well enough.
True or false: if the Eagles give up more than 24 points to the 49ers offense in a losing effort, Juan Castillo is out the door before the bye week?
One can only hope, right?
What would be the point of firing him mid season?
The only reason you fire a coach is if he’s completely incompetent. Castillo isn’t.
Tommy,
Let me ask you something. Hypothetically, let’s say Castillo resigns tomorrow. What would the succession plan be? Zordich? Would the Eagles look outside the organization?
That’s a tough question. Johnnie Lynn has experience as a DC. He might get the promotion. Chuck Cecil was the DC for the Titans last year. He’s currently unemployed. He’d be a name worth calling.
If Chuck Cecil has enough brain cells left to be a DC I wonder if this whole brain trauma stuff isn’t a bunch of nonsense.
Tommy,
Do you think it’s possible with all the media making a big spectacle of Vick’s comments (under duress) early in the week and then it backfiring Thursday night by that Jet & Dallas defencive player on NFL Total Access (admitting how they’re not allowed to touch Brady, Manning and Brees without getting a flag, but players like Vick they could put a late hit on whenever they want) that Goodell will tell the refs that this favoritism towards those QB’s has become way to obvious and out of control? It would be great if they told all the players on Defence the QB’s are going to be treated equally now, there’s no more walk in the park for those offenses and they’d actually have to earn their wins. I doubt Googell would put his foot down finally; but slim Brady and small Brees would be on IR by the end of the season and Vick would look better than both of them combined. Vick would have the upper hand since it wouldn’t be foreign for him being attacked with no fear from opposing defenses; while those QB’s would be in such shock, confusion & fear they’d find an excuse to retire within a yr. or two. Will Goodell be fair though? I doubt it.
This is America, son. We spell it “defense”
A spellerific Menning lover?? Deepest regards Boy…
There is no policy by the NFL to protect certain players. It is more human nature. Officials are going to protect stars. Just like in baseball an ump will think differently if a great hitter takes a pitch vs a rookie. The ump is more likely to call the pitch a strike vs the rookie. This isn’t a pre-programmed thought. It is a momentary reaction where circumstances over time have gotten in to affect a person’s thinking.
Goodell should take away the Brady rules and have the refs make rules that are angled towards Vick. Some Vick rules.
YEAH!!! VICK RULES!!!
Oh, wait, you used it in a completely different context. My bad.
Interesting take, but if you look elsewhere:
1) The NBA lives on players and coaches complaining about calls.
2) Basball also argues calls all the time, mostly “respectfully” (under arcane rules of conduct), but also vehmently (and then coaches/players are tossed).
Bottom-line: Refs everywhere have to answer to a higher authority. If they make bad calls (which, thanks to TV/technology and the Internet, are made plainly visible to a national audience now), they’ll be demoted/out-of-a-job.
All we fans want is a level playing field. Make the calls on Alex Smith? Fine, just as long as Vick gets his as well.
Overall, Vick speaking out is a good thing in my book.
I think arguing with the refs is less a part of the NFL than those other sports. Baseball has a particular history for arguing with the umpire (it seems like everyone does it at some point) and the NBA is the NBA – not so much a league as it is a bunch of outsize personalities whose respect for sportsmanship extends as far as the similarities between “The Decision” and an Edward R. Murrow newscast.
Here’s a pretty uncomfortable post to read / re-hash.
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2010/10/6/1733939/film-of-the-awful-officiating-from-the-eagles-redskins-game-last
Yeah, I saw that too. Of all the weeks to draw the guy that has a history of screwing us…
I can’t think of any ref that has been demoted/fired over bad calls.
I would have preferred that Reid be the man to raise the subject in the first place. The Coach should play the bad guy and let the athlete remain innocent. Regardless, I’m glad Vick brought it up because everbody with a television has watched Brady & Manning treated like they were made of crystal. I think it’s a good thing the subject is being aired because the next time #7 gets mauled without drawing a penalty, the monkees on ESPN will hoot and holler and we’ll watch the replay all week. Then, maybe, there will be liberty and justice for all.
The NFL would probably disagree with you. To them, the coaches are held to a higher standard when it comes to criticizing the refs. Had AR said anything even remotely close to what Vick said, I would be surprised if he wasn’t fined. On the other hand, the NFL decided not to fine Vick.
I think Vick definitely holds the ball too long, but I also think running QBs pass the eyeball test in that they do take more unflagged hits than others.
McNabb always comes to mind two years ago against Carolina. A blatant late hit that broke his ribs and yet no flag. I don’t even remember the guy being fined.
Tommy,
Have you watched film of past Titans’ games? Does Juan do anything different with the back 7 than was done in in Tennessee?
Knowing of what Jim Schwartz used there and in Detroit, he loves much bigger linebackers.
Hard to compare. TEN ran the W-9 a long time. Those guys knew the system and grew up in it. Our guys are just learning.
Really, it’s all about execution. I know some people think that is a cop-out, but it’s really the truth. Players have generally been in position to make plays. They just haven’t made the plays. That needs to change.