Sucker Punch

Posted: November 8th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 113 Comments »

We led 24-17.

Shady McCoy had just run for a 33-yard TD.  The offense was clicking.  The defense was coming up with turnovers.  I’m not sure what happened after that.  There was no lack of effort.  There wasn’t horrible coaching.  There was just something not working.

The Bears made timely play after timely play.  They scored the final 13 points of the game and made precious few mistakes.

This game was very much what we saw from the Eagles earlier in the season:

* Inconsistent run defense.  Forte was red hot early on, but had a stretch where we held him to 8 yards on 7 carries.  We got a couple of fumbles from him.  We just couldn’t make enough critical stops.  You can’t be off and on vs the run.  Not good enough.

* Dumb mistakes.  Celek doesn’t get out of bounds late in the half.  Maclin drops a key pass late in the half.  DeSean has the worst PR in the history of football.  He runs backward and fumbles, leading to 7 easy points for the Bears.  There were missed blocks…a lot.  Asante plays off and tries to bait Cutler into throwing his way in the endzone.  Jay did…for a TD.  I don’t know how Asante could have that mindset.

* Costly turnovers.  DeSean’s fumble set up a TD.  Vick threw an INT that cost us at least a FG.  RZ turnovers have hurt us almost all year long.  Those turned out to be huge, huge mistakes.  If either of those is different, we have a shot to tie or win the game late with a FG.

* Poor Red Zone defense.  The Bears were 3 for 4.  Gotta get some kind of stop.  There was bad luck on the Babin penalty, but Jason still has to find a way to miss Cutler.

We’re now 3-5.  A lot of people are going to jump right back onto “the season is over” kick.  We’re halfway through the 2011 season.  We had a crappy first 8 games.  This team could go 3-5 the rest of the way, or 6-2 or 7-1.  If they play like last week, we can beat anyone in the league.  If they play like tonight, they can lose to anyone in the league.

I’m not throwing the towel in on the season.  Too much time left.  Don’t get into all the playoff scenarios and trying to figure things out.  Take it one game at a time and let’s see what happens.  If the Eagles are still 2 games under .500 in a month, we’ll start talking about the draft.  If they’re at .500, we’ll start worrying about schedules and playoff scenarios.

I know you don’t want to hear it, but you have to see how the next few weeks play out.  3-5 means we’re in a bad situation, but it isn’t the end of things.  Much easier to get all gloom and doom and start firing guys and cutting players.  I just don’t think like that at the halfway point of a season.  And I sure wouldn’t want players and coaches who think like that.

Arizona is up next.  Eagles need to get this game behind them quickly and focus on the next one.  That’s the only way to dig out of a hole.  Gotta stay focused.

* * * * *

Right now I’m not real fond of DeSean, DRC, or Asante.  Those guys were way too soft tonight.  Can’t have that in critical situations.

* * * * *

The OL needs to forget about their damn mustaches and go block someone.  The guys had a bad night.  Todd Herremans ain’t going to any Pro Bowls if people saw him tonight.  Bears OL badly outplayed our guys.  Wasn’t even close.  The DL didn’t have a good game either.  No sacks?  On Cutler?  Ugh.

Jay was a freakin’ witch doctor tonight.  He moved around the pocket and made some great improvisational plays.  I can’t stand playing that guy.

* * * * *

I’ll write more later.  Too pissed to say much worth reading right now.  Miserable night.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000462635892 Thorin McGee

    The interviewer for Post Game Live (Gunn? I forget his name) just told DeSean he saw him wide open downfield 8, 9 times. I’d LOVE to know if that was the truth.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_L2JVA5WYEWBB2GEBMPY2S4F5NE Jon Blank

      The way Desean played tonight, I don’t blame Vick for not throwing it to him. He’s further away from a big contract than ever.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000462635892 Thorin McGee

        If DeSean Jackson is open downfield, you have to throw him the football. The rest of the offense doesn’t work if you don’t. If he was open downfield as much as was claimed, Vick is the problem. hes not seeing the field. It’s an important question for the O.

        Jackson tried to do too much on that punt reutrn to end the half and fumled, OK, it’s a mistake. But right now people are saying on PGL that they don’t like DeSean’s effort tonight. If he was open and not getting the football, his effort wasn’t the problem.

        • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_L2JVA5WYEWBB2GEBMPY2S4F5NE Jon Blank

          Desean also had several key drops. He’s been mostly invisible this season. Throw in the stupidity at the end of the half and he’s playing himself out of a big contract.

          • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000462635892 Thorin McGee

            Fine, then throw him the ball and let him drop it. But if the weapon is open deep, you have to give him the chance to make it happen. It backs off the rest of the defense and makes everything else easier.

          • Rob Cabacungan

            Vick wasn’t making good reads. Funny how the 28th-vs-the-Pass Bears confused him and Morhninwheg more than Rob Ryan, but there you go.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DPZBMFBVAVUM65GQ3VDXOQDYZQ Morton

    The defense is garbage. Simply put, they have a bad coach and overrated CBs and DEs.

    The season is over.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DPZBMFBVAVUM65GQ3VDXOQDYZQ Morton

      How does Jeff Lurie feel right now – he spent ALL this money in the offseason and he could have had the SAME RESULT if he had SPENT NOTHING on free agents, retained Sean McDermott, and started freaking Dimitri Patterson instad of Nnamdi “overpaid bum” asomugha.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_L2JVA5WYEWBB2GEBMPY2S4F5NE Jon Blank

        I bet he feels pretty stupid being quoted as saying the Eagles were “in contention” earlier this afternoon. Probably not stupid enough to do anything about it though.

    • http://twitter.com/theguyotc the guy

      But you’re OK with the way the offense performed?

      Why is the defense always the whipping boy when we know they have significant problems? Yes, they did not play well tonight. They were never going to be the strength of the team this year.

      I’m just curious how you watch a game in which a rookie 6th round linebacker scores more TDs than your QB and think to yourself it’s the defense that’s the problem.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DPZBMFBVAVUM65GQ3VDXOQDYZQ Morton

        The offense is certainly to blame but when you spend gobs of gobs of gobs of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ on defensive free agents in the offseaosn, and your defense is WORSE than it was last year, then you HAVE A PROBLEM.

        • http://twitter.com/theguyotc the guy

          They spent money on Jason Babin (team sack leader), Cullen Jenkins (DT sack leader), and Asomugha.

          Nnamdi has some memorably bad plays. He may be a bad signing, although very few WRs have gone over 100 yards vs the Eagles. But fine, he’s terrible and so is the defense.

          The offense scored 3 times. One long FG. One good drive for a TD. One short field drive for a TD thanks to a turnover. The defense only scored 10 fewer points than the offense. If you count points from turnovers, the offense scored 3 points more than the defense. The Eagles are not the Steelers or Ravens. That doesn’t work, and considering the talent they have, it’s unacceptable.

          • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000462635892 Thorin McGee

            Yeah, the O put up 17 against a very good Bears defense. That’s the number you expect them to score, even with turnovers. You don’t score all over the Bears D, that’s where they have all their best players. You take the points you can get and your D needs to stop the sub-par O.

          • http://twitter.com/theguyotc the guy

            So the Bears defense is better or more talented than the Eagles offense. I would have said otherwise, Urlacher and Peppers aside.

        • Anonymous

          Everybody can identify the problem.

          Nobody has any good solutions. At least not anything anyone can do until the offseason.

          Meanwhile, there are eight more games, and they’re so maddeningly inconsistent, they couldn’t lose them all if they tried.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000462635892 Thorin McGee

        Because we had the lead late. The D has to lock it down. At the end of the game, the D gave it back up. That’s when your D, especially with this secondary, has to shut them down. When you have the game won in the 4th Q and the D gives the lead back up, the problem is your D.

        • http://twitter.com/theguyotc the guy

          The secondary didn’t allow any WR to go over 100 yards. Only 1 WR scored a TD.

          The only reason the Eagles had the game won in the 4th was because of 2 TDs that came from the defense.

          • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000462635892 Thorin McGee

            So the defense giveth and they taketh away? Or vice versa? Man, that’s not good enough from the D. Turnovers are great, they’re necessary, but they don’t make a good defense alone. They don’t erase the 30 the D let them score.

            No receiver may have gone over 100 yrds, but those routes were there whenever Cutler wanted them. And more than that, I saw each of our CBs half heartedly chasing plays, even when that was their man their teammates were trying to tackle. The CB effort looked to me like “For Who For What” all over again.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_L2JVA5WYEWBB2GEBMPY2S4F5NE Jon Blank

        Not a finger on Cutler all night and a defense that got manhandled all over the field throughout the 4th quarter sure seems like a problem to me. And that isn’t even getting into the terrible game all 3 corners had.

        • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GWMNZ32U6YPGGA7N4JNWH4OSJE Mac

          I do agree, I was very disappointed by the lack of sack.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_L2JVA5WYEWBB2GEBMPY2S4F5NE Jon Blank

    Season is done. Too far back of the Giants and the wildcard, and certainly no evidence that this team has the mental capacity or leadership to go on any kind of extended winning streak. Terrible job by the defense but the 4th quarter performance on both side of the ball is extremely disturbing.

    Time to play spoiler and jockey for a draft pick that they can throw away.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DPZBMFBVAVUM65GQ3VDXOQDYZQ Morton

      Maybe Howie Roseman can pick another 6’0″ 250 lb DE with their top-10 pick for their stellar pass rush rotaiton!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_AHVR5EZERRCZSD77DMKWAEEPLA Steve H

    The team may not lack effort, but they clearly weren’t dialed in tonight, way too much sloppy play. I truly believe they don’t understand that they aren’t just going to be handed the playoff birth and they ya know, actually have to fight for it.

    DRC is about as useless as they come this year, what the heck is wrong with that guy? wasnt he supposed to be ya know, good or something? He’s worse than Asante when it comes to contact I think.

    The backbreaker play was the one in the 4th quarter, the bears had just got a holding called against them, Babin just misses a sack and Cutler falls down. 3 Eagles then proceed to play 3 stooges and fall all over each other, letting Cutler get up and complete a big pass that puts the Bears in favorable position. What the eff was that garbage?

    Chas Henry isn’t going to audition for any quarterbacking jobs anytime soon, I’d imagine.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GWMNZ32U6YPGGA7N4JNWH4OSJE Mac

      You know what though… Chas Henry at least looked the way someone should look after messing up. It get’s old seeing guys get beat and get up smiling like old Mac 5 used to after throwing a ball in the dirt when a guy was wide open. I am guessing the earthworms at the Linc thought those days of dodging footballs were over…

  • http://twitter.com/theguyotc the guy

    The team sucks.

    Losing I can live with. Losing like that I can live with. Losing like that 5 times in 8 games? Unforgivable.

    • Anonymous

      Agreed.

  • Anonymous

    The Eagles lost in every phase of the game.

    The special teams made two huge mistakes — one the fumble, the other a lost opportunity.

    The offense was inconsistent — and Marty was outcoached in the 4th Q (like just about every game this year) and the “athletic, lighter” O-line was manhandled by the big, physical bears.

    The defense . . . well, what can you say. The 4th Q came and the defense looked lost.

    Is it possible that Nnamdi got old during the off season — “old” like Chase Utley compared to last year.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GWMNZ32U6YPGGA7N4JNWH4OSJE Mac

      That was definitely Todd’s worst game at RT. It also looked like the o-line and shady were confused by some of the pre snap motion they got from the Bears.

      The scary thing was… seeing guys who were much larger moving as fast or faster than our “fast” guys. I guess the Bears found Clay Matthew’s dealer.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GWMNZ32U6YPGGA7N4JNWH4OSJE Mac

    As frustrating as this game was to watch at times, it was also exciting to watch. The thing that irks me is the Nate Allen injury, and all the hits that Vick was taking. The Eagles are still the most exciting team to watch in the NFL. I just wish they would stop finding ways to lose games.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_L2JVA5WYEWBB2GEBMPY2S4F5NE Jon Blank

      I’d call the Eagles the most frustrating team to watch. This team isn’t nearly as exciting as the teams from the last two seasons, and the product on the field keeps deteriorating.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GWMNZ32U6YPGGA7N4JNWH4OSJE Mac

        That’s part of the reason why it’s so great being an Eagles fan. You can spot the bandwagons a mile away. Real Eagles fans are forged in the pits of misery like the late 80s-early 90s. So much promise, so little deliverance.

        And yet, we achieved the Nirvana that is defeating the Cowboys.

        • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_L2JVA5WYEWBB2GEBMPY2S4F5NE Jon Blank

          Yeah. No chance at a super bowl victory, a team that never fails to disappoint, and a coach just good enough to never ever be fired. Yeah being an Eagles fan is effing great.

          • Anonymous

            Truth. But being an Eagles fan is like being in the Mob, there’s no way out of it.

  • Kammich

    Misery loves company, and it would be very easy to jump onto the pile and hammer this team into negative oblivion right now.

    Instead, I choose to be the glutton for punishment. I am going to drink liquor and listen to angry music until I wind up uninhabited on my couch. I will wake up tomorrow, feeling my oats, hating my sports fandom, and questioning the direction of my life in general. Or not. Maybe I’ll just be pissed at Jay Cutler and the fact that he looks like Droopy.

    I’m a fool. I’ll be just as excited about next week’s game against ARZ as I was about this game. Its a sickness, I guess. This season is, logically, lost. But I don’t deal with logic. Logic is for sane people.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GWMNZ32U6YPGGA7N4JNWH4OSJE Mac

      While it appears unlikely, the Eagles have not been mathematically eliminated yet. And remember, you can’t spell eliminated without Eli.

    • Anonymous

      Bravo. That, my friend, is some inspiring prose.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=723700607 Trevor Turner

    Am I the only one who thinks Chicago just played a really good game tonight?

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GWMNZ32U6YPGGA7N4JNWH4OSJE Mac

      I think Chicago’s defense was excellent. I also happen to think their offense got a little “help” from those guys wearing the stripes.

      The thing that seems to be driving everyone crazy is that this was a winnable game. That combined with how many winnable games have slipped through the Eagles claws so far this season.

      Sometimes I think everyone forgets that this is the NFL and you don’t just go out and dominate every single week.

    • Anonymous

      Getting Earl Bennett back proved to be huge. He was really good on 3rd downs and Cutler played great at times.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=509449 Anirudh Jangalapalli

        Did we just not realize that Earl Bennett was back? There were like 5 plays where the D looked like it just expected the Bears to field 10 guys on offense, and completely forget about covering Bennett.

    • Anonymous

      Nope. They were great at blocking, great at tackling and great at converting third downs.

      But nobody wants to hear the “the other team played really well” rap. We’d rather dream of the magic solution defensive coordinator/head coach who is out of work right now or the Arizona State linebacker who will solve all the problems.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GWMNZ32U6YPGGA7N4JNWH4OSJE Mac

    I had this game “circled” on my calendar the moment the debacle at Soldier “field” was over. I was utterly convinced that… played on a real football field the outcome would have been quite different.

    Obviously this is a different Eagles team, also obvious was the fact that I had no idea this game would be on the schedule. All I can hope is that somehow from this loss the organization has learned something. Whether its the value of over-sized athletic DEs, or its the fact that running the ball on 3rd and short can work when you have Howard Mudd… I don’t know.

    I like the Moxy that Reid has now. His face was so red that you probably could have cooked a few eggs on it. I just wish this new found passion would somehow transfer to those players who seem to be giving less than 100%.

  • Anonymous

    The one thing I don’t understand is how in the world we didn’t get a big pass play once in this game. The Bears were regularly lining 10 guys on the line and keeping on guy deep. There were plenty of times that even with that defensive lineup, we managed to get plenty of time for Vick to throw. Still, neither of our fast WRs could get space and/or Vick couldn’t find them the ball. The Bears were daring us to go deep all game, and with talent we have on this offense, at some point you would think we could actually take that dare and make them pay for it.

    • Anonymous

      Don’t know if that’s on Vick or the WRs. Legit question.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MIZ4JYNOUKDWRGXHDRK2MSY5AU Zachary

        When was our last big pass play this year? Like a he’s going all the way. A Julio Jones take it to the house moment? I feel like we haven’t had one.

    • Matthew Butch

      I was in the stands, and there was one play where DJax was on a deep post, and he was wide open. Vick had time to throw it to him too. But he didn’t. I don’t even think he looked in that direction. If he had it would’ve been a TD. I can’t remember the drive it was on, but I remember clearly screaming that DJax was open- like unbelievably open.

  • Anonymous

    If Marty and Andy are such offensive geniuses, and teams are now playing their safeties “500 yards” back, WHY CAN’T MARTY AND ANDY FIGURE SOMETHING OUT?

    You think other teams, like New Orleans, don’t face the same problem?

    Look at Pittsburgh. Mike Wallace, no matter what other teams do, gets open deep. Maybe its his size.

    So why can’t the Eagles get the ball to Jackson on deep crossing routes? Jeez.

    More generally . . . what exactly is the philosophy of this team? From top down?

    The Eagles are UNDERSIZED at every position. Every single one — except half back and left OT.

    Jean Pierre Paul . . . he’s going to haunt the Eagles for the next 10 years.

    • Kammich

      Jean Pierre Paul is a much more dramatic name than Jason Pierre Paul. In fact, if his first name was really Jean, not only would we have chosen him over Graham… but I think we would’ve run up to the podium and thrown sand into San Francisco’s eyes when we made the pick.

      Bloodsport, FTW.

      • Anonymous

        The beat down on the misnomer makes sense.

        Jason Pierre Paul.

        But does it matter?

        • Kammich

          Wasn’t taking a shot on the misnomer at all, homie. Sorry. Just drowning my sorrows in Bloodsport references. Its all we really have at this point.

  • Anonymous

    On the bright side: Celek is back, Coleman played well and had about 30 tackles, and Shady had a solid game.

    Who am I kidding, someone please remove all sharp objects within a 50 foot radius of me.

    • Kammich

      Yeah, I totally get where you’re coming from on the sharp objects front. I’ve been trying to use mental telepathy to crush my recycling bin for the last 28 minutes, but it hasn’t worked so far. The Force is not strong with this one, apparently.

      • Anonymous

        I’m relaxing with some Slipknot and PBR. It is helping.

        • Anonymous

          I’ll probably go N.W.A. and Hennessey.

          We are unique, and yet we are the same.

          • Anonymous

            There are multiple “solutions” to this problem.

  • Anonymous

    The Eagles record against teams with a winning record is: 0-5.

    That says it all.

    • Kammich

      Teams with a winning record against the Eagles: 5-0.

      Damn, those teams are gooood.

      No? :(

  • Anonymous

    Tommy, you’re totally delusional (or you’re getting paid by the team to write this).
    I think Juan’s gone this week, with the decision coming from above, and AR’s told anything less than 8-8 and he can pack his bags as well (and I’m not convinced 8-8 will get it done either).
    When it’s “Super Bowl or Bust” and you finish “not even close” and can’t blame injuries (or #5 anymore), heads HAVE to roll.

    • Anonymous

      Juan isn’t getting fired.
      I’m not paid to write for PE.com
      Heads could roll, but that would be at the end of the season.

      Next question.

      • Anonymous

        What? They don’t break you off for that?

        I’m quite obviously for labors of love and all … but we need to get you an agent. You’re not a businessman, you’re a business, man!

        Re: the OP, I’m glad I don’t work for Eagles_Fan_in_San_Fran or any of the 500 other people who think firing someone is the best solution to most problems.

        • Anonymous

          Castillo is better be fired after this season. With all due respect but Dick Jauron would have done a better job with the personall in Philly. When do you finally realize this?!

      • Anonymous

        Are you a boxers or briefs man?

  • Anonymous

    I don’t know if I think we should start midseason firing talk, of players or coaches. However I do think our season is over. We’ve lost to two teams who should be fighting for a wildcard and the Giants have a 3 game lead on us. I just don’t see it happening.

    I’m pretty pissed myself. First because we lost, and second because I didn’t listen to myself and grab a bottle of crown tonight. I’m still willing to let Juan have the rest of the season to prove himself. But I don’t think it’s going to bode well for Castillo. Last week we played a lot of press man coverage. Our defense played great. As a coach, how do you see how well your unit played in man, and then go back to zone? Especially when you saw through the first five games that your corners aren’t good zone corners?

    • Anonymous

      They mixed zone and man tonight. We got beat in both. CBs just didn’t have a good night.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GWMNZ32U6YPGGA7N4JNWH4OSJE Mac

      With his performance so far this season… Is it even worth extending DRC?

      I realize that a long time ago I was busy saying he would be a help to our D and come over as part of the Kolb trade… but he really hasn’t passed the “eye” test. I trust our talent evaluators and self scouting enough to know the right decision will be made, but I’m curious if other people have seen DRC play more than 1 good game (last week).

      • Anonymous

        Looks like he maybe just has never gotten comfortable in the slot. From a business angle, a bad season might be great for us in terms of getting a deal on an extension, but hopefully his confidence isn’t shot.

        He was not good tonight. They will look at his entire body of work, so it’s too early to say whether DRC is back and in what capacity.

        If Asante was having any kind of year, we’d be more eager for him to stay.

    • Anonymous

      Fair:
      “I’m still willing to let Juan have the rest of the season to prove himself. But I don’t think it’s going to bode well for Castillo.”

      At this point I’m growing indifferent. That’s how I was with McDermott at the end. I know in today’s NFL very few defenses are going to dominate every week, but damn … we’ve GOT to be better.

      The thing I’m not looking forward to is starting from scratch again and getting young all over again through the draft. The past few years’ frustration was always partially validated by the idea that this team would begin to peak soon.

      It’s still losing games it has a chance to win because of its own mistakes. At a certain point, it becomes too frustrating to continually excuse.

      Same time, we gotta play out the string here. In two weeks we could be one game out of first with six games to go. And we still have a team that could get hot if it could get out of its own way. Can’t say I believe after tonight, because they’re just not consistent enough to have us think the Good Eagles would show up four weeks in a row even if they got in to the big show.

      If this roster misses the playoffs though, it’s a travesty.

  • Anonymous

    Everything you wrote Tommy was on point, even in your pissed-off state … some of it was nearly verbatim from my posts on BGN (i.e. we’re in bad shape, I wouldn’t utter the word playoffs right now, but beat Arizona. Then let’s talk New York. One game at a time).

    I also couldn’t put my finger on why exactly they couldn’t protect this lead, but like the other four losses, plenty of blame to go around between offense, defense, special teams and coaching. Officials even wanted in on the action this week and threw in a pair of calls I hated (Babin and NA pass int. on 3rd & 11).

    The Eagles are still capable of beating anyone and losing to anyone. Maddeningly inconsistent, not just game to game, but drive to drive. It’s the NFL, even a talented team is not going to have a 100% success rate, but these guys … for some reason they are not cohesive and because the answers aren’t obvious, that most of the talent seems to be there, it’s worse than being, say, a Redskins fan and knowing why you suck.

    Good point too on there being 8 games left. On message boards you can look ahead to the draft, fire everyone you want, etc. … but in the real world you play out the final eight games. Maybe in two weeks we’re one game out of first place, even at a crappy 5-5. But you don’t throw the towel in. Forget that.

  • Anonymous

    Since the playoffs expanded, only 246 of the 252 playoff teams were foolish enough to NOT start a season 3-5. How about the others?

    The 1990 New Orleans Saints started 3-5 before turning things around with a 5-3 run down the stretch and grabbing a Wild Card spot. They went on to lose to the Bears in the first round of the playoffs.

    The 1994 New England Patriots actually fell all the way to 3-6 before rattling off SEVEN straight wins (only two against playoff teams) to make the playoffs (and lose to the Browns).

    The 1995 Detroit Lions fell all the way to 3-6 before before being able to play seven straight teams that would miss the playoffs, and beat all of them. Then, of course, Lomas Brown thought they were actually good and ran his mouth.

    The 1996 Jacksonville Jaguars are the team that the optimists like Tommy are going to be most fond of. They fell all the way to 3-6 before rebounding (by, again, playing only one playoff team) to 9-7 and pulling off those two playoff victories and making it all the way to the AFC Championship Game.

    Then no one did it for six years until the New York Jets started the 2002 season 3-5. That put them 2 games behind the Bills and Dolphins. The Jets played a whopping one playoff team the rest of the season (the Raiders in a game they lost) and finished up 9-7 and Division Champions. They beat the hell out of Indy in the playoffs then lost, again, to the Raiders.

    Six years later the 2008 San Diego Chargers started off 3-5, dropped to 4-8, then rattled off four straight wins to make the playoffs. Of course, when they were 3-5, they were still only a game out of first in their division.

    See, totally possible for the Eagles to make the playoffs.

    • Anonymous

      I just want to get back to .500 for now. That starts Sunday vs Cards.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MIZ4JYNOUKDWRGXHDRK2MSY5AU Zachary

        What good does .500 do us? Tommy –

        Right now tie breaks:
        Wild Card
        Altana – Overall record, Conference record, H2H Win
        Chicago – Overall record, Conference record, H2H Win
        Tampa – Overall Record
        Detroit – Overall Record, Conference Record
        Dallas – Overall Record

        Divison Leader
        NYG – Overall record, and H2H win

        Other than the fact that I’m a fan and will always hate when this team loses, and suffer all week because of it, I could care less about a win or loss record wise this weekend, it has no impact on the season, too many team too far ahead of us, at the end of the day – the rest of the year needs to be about enjoying the Eagles team and games the 8 games they have left, as much as they will allow us to.

        • Matthew Butch

          Because you have to start somewhere.

          I still think the Giants are a joke, and they are known for their late season collapses.

          I think the problem is that people thought the Patriots were good. There not.

          So if the Eagles can beat the Cardinals, they have a shot. The Giants have a tough ass schedule, and that Nov 20th game against them is the season. If the Eagles win, they are at most 2 games back, but probably more like 1.

          Either way, they have shot. Of course, that doesn’t mean any of this will happen, but its what I’m holding on too.

          • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MIZ4JYNOUKDWRGXHDRK2MSY5AU Zachary

            I got no problem hoping for them to win, but I still feel like thinking the playoffs are a joke. A 4-4 team going to the playoffs fine, I could start to believe, but in this league, 99% of the time you need 10 wins to win the division. This team has to be perfect to get to10 wins, or almost perfect….a 3-5 team becoming perfect? Count me in the disbelievers.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=509449 Anirudh Jangalapalli

    Honestly, the Offense’s issues I expected. Guys have made great points about Maclin’s complete lack of clutch-ness. DeSean’s DeSappearing act isn’t anything new. Vick throws picks. (I will say the O-Line’s struggles were a surprise).

    In this game and in the 3.5 losses to the Falcons, Giants, 49ers, and Bills (first half), I was stunned by how poorly our CBs played. Did we take all the “high motor” and concentrate it in our D-Line and LBs? On that first drive, they had a great replay of DRC putting in about 25% of the effort it takes to actually make a tackle, and just expect that the guy would fall down. He doesn’t, DRC lazily turns around, and doesn’t even lunge again, but just throws his hands up. Asante’s been off and on, but when he’s off, it’s mind-blowing. Redzone. 5 yard cushion. What does he think is actually going to happen? And Nnamdi is just sloppy – I think he may have the biggest ego on the team, though he’s really great at hiding it. I guess that’s what comes of having every news outlet in sports label you the “biggest FA in the offseason.”

    This is my real concern with the defense. Scheme we may have actually figured out at this point, but the guys who were supposed to be the strength are playing like it’s practice out there. I give Juan credit for stringing together 10 straight good quarters, but somehow, again, we’re back with the underachieving, overhyped CB group, that’s doing its best to make us realize that, for all of Dmitri Patterson’s flaws, he at least played like he gave a damn.

    Looks like we’re back to this again:
    “Cheering for flawed underachievers is hard. I’d love to tell the team this…we want to believe. Just give us a reason. Give us one stinking reason. Please.”

  • Anonymous

    Tommy….pls share your thoughts on this statement. We keep seeing the same mistakes week after week. Either the players are not given the proper instruction and motivation to correct the mistakes or they have quit listening to the coaches.

    Either way is a failure of leadership.

    Times yours…..

    • Anonymous

      We didn’t see the mistakes in the last 2 wins.

      They came back vs Bears. You need to figure out why they went away and why they came back. Then you’ll have true understanding.

      Failure of leadership is nice catch phrase, but doesn’t really address anything specific. Key to this isn’t to play blame game, but rather to identify specific issues and their causes. Coaches can solve problems if they know what the problem is.

      • Anonymous

        We didn’t see the mistakes in the last 2 wins.

        That’s wrong Tommy…the mistakes have always been there…we just got ahead of the Cowboys and they had to abandon the running game with Murray…I can imagine what would have happened – if we were not ahead – Murray running roughshod over this D…also it was a bad toss to lose…I had that bad feeling when the Bears just ran it right down our throats for a TD….what I cant understand is even a 6 year old child like my son knows they are gonna run Forte – everyone knows that and the Bears start off by handing the ball to Forte – what the heck kinda coach is Castillo…cant he friggin figure out that his first and only priority is to stop Forte…? and dont get me started on Earl Bennett – I can for certain say that Bennett will hardly do anything else this season…the Eagles always make no name players look like heroes!

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_L2JVA5WYEWBB2GEBMPY2S4F5NE Jon Blank

        This coach doesn’t solve problems, he creates them.

      • Anonymous

        Mate, what drugs are you talking?!

  • Anonymous

    I hope the Eagles F.O. took note of what real LB’s can mean to a defense….Urlacher and Briggs were all over the field!! Briggs made play after play. Use those three high picks next year and 2 better be LB’s. Fokou is garbage, Chaney is average and Rolle is slightly above average. How about 2 STARS!?!

    I am also REALLY dissapointed in Jenkins, Cole, Babin and Patterson. They were DOMINATED by an average O line at best. Cole couldnt get past a 7th Round pick and Babin had a Guard turned Tackle. Bears were ready, Eagles were not. Once again, a 4th qtr were we had every chance to win, but couldn’t burry a team.

    Dare to say that AZ isn’t even a walk in the park? Can Skelton beat the Eagles secondary? Does DRC play one really good game to impress him former team? They need to pretty much win out and get some help from the Gmen to make this work. BRING ON THE DRAFT TALK!!!

    • Anonymous

      I am sure we can make Skelton look like the next coming of Joe Montana…

  • Anonymous

    I’m really not sure what to think.
    We’re soft in some areas, but we play hard.
    We can make amazing plays, then go unclutch.
    We’ll make brilliant play-calls, but not execute

    I think hitting is contagious. Even Jarrett was scared to hit a guy last night. He had a couple of open shots at Forte and just to wrap up instead. I get it, it’s the right “football play”, but I feel last night was the type of game where we needed a back 7 hitter to man-up and show who owns the field.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Scott-Buchanan/1557343118 Scott Buchanan

    Should have Could have Would have…
    2011 Philadelphia Eagles
    Times yours…….

  • Anonymous

    This loss was on the entire organization.

    I still don’t understand how the Steelers are able to complete long passes to Wallace and Brown, even though teams know that Big Ben’s going to go deep . . . but the Eagles can’t get a 20 yard pass to D-Jax or J-Mac.

    Weird.

    Where’s Marty in the 4th Q? (I know he didn’t slip on the last play. But what about the rest of the quarter.)
    ________________

    The defense . . . too small and too under-talented at too many positions. And not very physical. Chicago just kicked their asses. (Same with O-line. Chicago kicked them around.)

    Wouldn’t be fun to have to monster-sized LBs to play behind a big DL that can run like a light-weight DL?
    ________________

    For the past 4 or 5 years, it seems like every off-season, the Eagles have been “re-loading” on the fly. But the team’s not getting any better.

    The drafts just haven’t paid off *enough*.

    Clearly, McCoy was a monster selection. D-Jax and Maclin and Celek are all good picks.

    Turning the 2007 No. 1 into Jason Peters was a great move.

    But defensively . . . the drafting has been disappointing.
    ________________

    What is this team’s philosophy on defense? Big and fast? Small and fast? Physical. Not physical but quick.

    What’s the philosophy? (I get that the scheme is some strange zone/man combo that seems to have made Nnamdi old, slow, and mediocre.)

    What type of players are the Eagles looking for?

    Every game, the opponent now runs a power-O to their strong side — usually Babin/Fokou. The Eagles can’t stop that play. All year long.

    Howie talks about leaders of their college teams. High character guys. Okay. Let’s go for big, powerful, nasty, ass-kicking defensive guys.
    ________________

    Alabama’s MLB Dontae Hightower . . . I know he doesn’t run like Urlacher. But the guy’s huge.

    Let’s change the philosophy. Big, fast, mean, nasty, guys.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GWMNZ32U6YPGGA7N4JNWH4OSJE Mac

      In games of strategy, speed wins… almost every time.

      The problem (in my opinion) isn’t the philosophy, it’s the execution. Perfect example: Maclin is open, pass is too high, he catches it (thankfully) but then can’t control his body enough to use the open field to get the first down. Speed won the battle, lack of execution shot speed in the foot.

      2 times last night Trent Cole was in position to stop Forte in the backfield. His speed got him there, he just didn’t quite make the play (lack of execution).

  • http://twitter.com/ProtoTyler Tyler Phillips

    Fine, the season obviously isn’t over, but the playoff chances are dead in the water regardless of if you want to wait to look at it or not. With no tiebreakers, a horrible conference record, and needing to go 7-1 or 8-0 to even have a shot at either of those scenarios… Yes Tommy there is not point thinking about playoff scenarios b/c this team is not going to be involved and I will be surprised if they finish above .500.

    • Anonymous

      Need to win every NFC East game, and hope the Gmen tumble….everyone needs to be a 49er fan big time this weekend!!

  • Anonymous

    After watching how we played in the first half, especially the fumble by Djax after we tied it up, I turned off the TV just sickened with the lack of concentration and the accountability. How can you do that when they punt and pin you in. Just run forward and take what you can get. Djax is a special talent but running backwards and getting into an awkward position is just poor judgment and carelessness. Then, when Celek got whacked and put on his butt and Vick was running off the field complaing to the ref, it did not bode well for me. TV off and hoping that the Eagles would win to spite my lack of support. Nope. Nada. Bottom line, the Bears played the way we should have with intensity and a desire to win. We have to many guys that think people are scared of this team…still …even with our W/L record. Time for the players to wake up and improve their effort and play over the long haul. Beating Dallas is not a statement by any means if you follow it up with play the following week that is best described as spicy butt sauce.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MIZ4JYNOUKDWRGXHDRK2MSY5AU Zachary

    Tommy,

    I’d love to know where your confidence comes from.

    Too me this is a often poorly coached team, who just relies too much on talent. I don’t feel like their is any leadership on or off the field.

    I’ve said it before, who do you trust to make a play – game on the line?

    Do you think DeSean is going to berak a 70 yarder anymore? Maclin? Vick?

    Do you trust Asuomuga to make a key pass defense? Jamar Chaney to make a key stop on a rushing play? Trent Cole to pressure/sack the QB with the game on the line?

    Brian Dawkins may be over the hill. Jeremiah Trotter may have died as a football player. Quinten Mikell may be on the downside of his career. Troy Vincent and Hugh Douglas are long gone. But these were guys who you expected to make a play. We don’t have anyone – other than LeSean, who I trust, and when you are down 6 points with 2 minutes left, not that much LeSean can do.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_MIZ4JYNOUKDWRGXHDRK2MSY5AU Zachary

    Also on the rest of the year…We started the year 3-5, I don’t see how anyone could have playoff expectations. Playoff dreams? Sure until we’re mathmatically eliminated, you can dream, but if you are being real – you are looking at a inconsistent team, that WE are making too many excuses for. Sure I feel better when I go – but we had the lead in the 4th quarter in 4 of the 5 losses, but at the end of the day this is a 3-5 team, and at best I got us chalked up at 8-8 right now.

    NE – Loss
    NYJ – Loss
    NYG or DAL or WAS – Loss

    Minimum 3 losses for this squad, no playoffs at 8-8.

  • Anonymous

    Bears / Eagles always comes down to 2 things: LOS and TO. Eagles clearly lost the first one last night, and just broke even on the second.

    This is the second game STs cost us the game. The first one was the missed FGs game. Last night, Desean and the fake punt cost us the game. That said, the KR coverage was awesome.

    The Eagles have turned into San Diego East. All reputation, always in the game, but half the time blundering into a loss.

  • Anonymous

    To quote one of my favorite Smiths songs, “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore”.

    When Maclin flat out dropped that dig route and Celek fought for an extra yard instead of getting out of bounds, you knew it was going to be one of those nights. The problem is, as Eagles fans, we’ve endured far too many nights like this. On a night where the Eagles honored Buddy Ryan, the defense was a total embarassment. It was an embarassment when we got blown out by Seattle on the night when Reggie White was honored too. This teams is all style and no substance. It is pathetic that this city has had to endure 3 losses at home when the defense couldn’t protect 4th quarter leads. There is no home field advantage for the Eagles anymore. The Linc is more like a theme park than a stadium. There aren’t any players on the team, on either side of the ball, that bring toughness to this team. It showed big time in the losses to the Bears and Giants. Those are teams with less talent, but more fight.

    Did you see Briggs and Urlacher making plays all over the field last night? How about their defensive line taking it to our offensive line? What about their corners in the faces of our recievers, smacking them in the mouth and not letting get off the LOS? Then contrast that with our defense…I don’t need to elaborate.

    Funny how Juan Castillo wanted to emulate the Bears defense. He’s doing a hell of a job, wouldn’t you say. Maybe the best thing we can hope for is the Bears to miss the playoffs and have either Lovie Smith or Rod Marinelli here as our DC next year. Juan can be re-assigned to something he’s more suited for…Assistant to the Traveling Secretary, or something like that. He’s obviously overmatched. The mad scientist took him to school last night and he failed the test.

    I’m not going to let the offense off the hook either. Vick threw another costly interception. We abandoned LeSean McCoy after we got the 24-17 lead. The o-line got their asses handed to them. Oh…and there was one play that spoke volumes to the way the Bears were kicking our asses…DeSean was open across the middle and Vick fired the ball to him. It was high and out in front of him. Watch the replay. DJax started falling to avoid the hit from the Safety before catching the ball. Jaws even commented on how the S did a good job of pulling up and not laying the hit. Seriously…re-watch the play. It was a catchable ball but Jackson was more concerned with not getting hit.

    My God, it’s so frustrating. I think this is the problem most Eagles fans have with Andy. He assembled this team of wimps. This is not EAGLES football. If the Birds are going to lose, at least punch someone in the mouth while doing it. The culture of the team and the organization needs to change. When Jay Cutler looks like a Hall of Famer against you, and just good enough to get you beat against everyone else, that tells the whole story.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GWMNZ32U6YPGGA7N4JNWH4OSJE Mac

    I don’t know who Israel Idonojay (or whatever) is, but that guy made Todd look bad.

    I liked the fact that Juan was willing to gamble in the RZ for some stops.

    Were the Eagles too keyed on Forte and that’s why Bennett got open, or was it just a case of blown coverages?

    I’m still peeved that we didn’t get any sacks, or any good punishing late hits on Cutlery.

    The Bears looked fresh, and played like it.

  • Anonymous

    Fuck off. The Eagles season is over. If you still don’t wanna believe this, you’re either delussional or a fucking retard.

    • Anonymous

      Sorry for my harsh words but it’s time to finally admit that the Eagles are what their record says they are. No offense to you, but the Eagles are 0-5 against teams with a winning record. When was the last time? 1999???

      • Anonymous

        Be civil. Period.

        Disagree all you want, but do it the right way.

        • Anonymous

          Sorry bud, I was caught off by the way the Eagles have lost again. In the end it was 4.57am I stayed up all night to see another 4th quarter breakdown. Not your fault but I am getting tired of the way the Eagles are blowing seasons after seasons. All good though. ;)

    • Anonymous

      Tommy,
      this was not directed to you in person. It was more directed to anyone who thinks the Eagles have a realistic chance of making the playoffs this year. That’s all.

  • Pingback: Some random NFC East thoughts, mostly bitter ones – Blogging the bEast

  • Matthew Butch

    Well, I guess we know what this team is: maddeningly inconsistent.

    They can make great plays, then turn around and make the dumbest plays you’ve ever seen.

    I’m not ready to write the season off, but I’m not hopeful like I was.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_L2JVA5WYEWBB2GEBMPY2S4F5NE Jon Blank

      Eagles are done. With the tiebreaker situation the way it is, the Eagles could win out and only have a 50/50 shot at a wildcard spot. And everybody knows this team isn’t winning out. They’ll be lucky to get to 7 wins.

    • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GWMNZ32U6YPGGA7N4JNWH4OSJE Mac

      I love the Eagles, I love seeing my team win, but I also know from a philosophical standpoint that expectations are the greatest single cause of human suffering.

      My approach to help lessen the sting of these kind of games has followed this formula: I expect to get to watch 16 Eagles games this year. I expect to see exciting plays by the offense. I don’t expect, but hope to see some turnovers created by the defense or at least a few sacks to get excited about.

      Ask any Yankee fan, you can’t just buy a championship. Lurie did his part… he opened up his wallet, and the team got some nice talent. That alone doesn’t give people the right to expect a championship. Heck, at the end of the day, nothing guarantees a championship. Footballs bounce in unpredictable ways… Injuries bring promising seasons to an end.

      How many of us expected a defensive touchdown yesterday?

      How many people would have predicted Forte to have 2 fumbles?

      The frustrating thing is seeing players who don’t seem to go 100% on every play.

  • Anonymous

    With Vick’s new mega-deal, he’s not going anywhere in the next 2-3 years.

    But how ’bout we sit D-Jax and put Riley Cooper in there.

    He’s not as fast, sure. But right now Jackson isn’t a deep-ball weapon anyway.

    But Cooper is big. He’d give Vick a nice, big target like the Saints gave Brees with Marques Colston. All Colston does is make plays to move the chains.

    (Re: Clay Harbor. Too short. The best TEs are tall guys.)
    _______________

    When people discussing this team talk about “Accountability”, what does that mean.

    No one expected to be a major part of the team except Casey Mathews has been benched.

    So what exactly is ‘accountability’ in Reid’s universe?

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_L2JVA5WYEWBB2GEBMPY2S4F5NE Jon Blank

    The Bears had no problem sitting Forte for 10 minutes after he fumbled the 2nd time. If Andy really wanted to make a statement he’d deactivate Desean for next week, or at the very least bench him for a half. But we all know none of that will happen.

    • Anonymous

      I wrote this exact same comment last night. There’s ZERO accountability on this team. I understand why Reid protects his players, but they have to show responsibility as well.

  • Anonymous

    By the way this was the 4th (!) time this season the Eagles blew a 4th quarter lead. Can we please have Dick Jauron? Or are you still on Castillo’s bandwagon?!

  • Rob Cabacungan

    This team is capable of beating (or losing to) anyone on any given Sunday. I’ll hold out hope for the playoffs until they get to 7 losses. I think the Phillies in recent years have demonstrated it isn’t how you start a season that counts, but how you finish it. Better to end on a roll than start on a roll.

    • http://twitter.com/EWeaver34 Eric Weaver

      I just don’t want it like a few seasons ago where they won their last 3 to get to 8-8 costing you valuable draft picks.

      I’d rather a top 15 pick and then two high seconds.

      • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_L2JVA5WYEWBB2GEBMPY2S4F5NE Jon Blank

        Then I have good news for you. Since Howie and Andy started making “magic” together, the Eagles have drafted horribly. So you can sleep tight knowing that they would have blown that higher draft pick anyway. There is always a 6th round grade linebacker waiting for the Eagles to reach for him.

        • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DPZBMFBVAVUM65GQ3VDXOQDYZQ Morton

          Best case scenario is a high draft pick and a new coaching staff that can actually identify talent in the draft.

          Cut/trade all of the underachieving primadonnas or untalented players (DeSean, Asante, Rodgers-Cromartie, Fokou, etc) and begin to rebuild with a new core of players.

          • Anonymous

            Morton:

            I always look forward to your comments. I think they’re honest — and the reflect the emotion of a fan that really cares. You’re no polly-anna.

            To the substance . . . I think DeSean’s not been the same player since his concussion last season (I’m not the first to say this). I’d be disappointed to see him go. But for reasons I don’t understand, he’s not delivering in Reid’s system right now — in contrast to the Steelers two deep threats Wallace and Brown who, no matter how deep the safeties are, make big plays down field. [Is it their size? Is it that the Steelers are still perceived as a running team? Don't know.]

            The Eagles will have to choose between Asante and DRC. I can’t see both getting cut loose.

            A different scheme — like the Bears run — would be great for Asante. A scheme like the Eagles’ used to run under JJ and McD would help DRC (and Nnamdi) by getting DRC on the outside every play in man to man.

            Yes, DRC has been a monumental disappointment. But there’s no way to know if that’d never happened if the Eagles (i) never sign Nnamdi, or (ii) trade Asante before the season started.

            I think it comes down to the scheme of the NEXT defensive coordinator (and new LB and DB coaches). Because there has to be a new DC. Juan’s been out-coached in the 4th Q of every one of the Eagles’ 5 losses, I believe. And his blitz schemes have been wholly ineffectual. Just terrible. Great guy. He’ll find a job coach defense in college.

            Fokuo — a special teamer at best. Has no business starting . And certainly no business celebrating his first tackle in the 4th Q with the team down 3 points.

            Too soon to know if Jarrett’s been misjudged (or “over-judged”) by Roseman. But Coleman, while solid, is a second stringer on a good team.

            But to your point about underachievers . . . maybe the first guy that should go is Roseman. He’s the chief talent evaluator. And in that respect, he’s not done his job.

            (Graham’s a good kid. Maybe next year he makes a serious contribution. But right now, he’s playing on 1 leg. Danny Watkins — nice kid. But, like Mudd said this week in an interview, DW is basically learning how to be a high school football player . . . and he’s 26.)

            This team has lots of holes that the occasional good protection or good run block hides because of Vick and McCoy. The Eagles need to get Bigger on defense. And way MORE PHYSICAL.

  • Anonymous

    What’s really sad is that I truly believe if we played them again next week, we wouldn’t win. I truly believe this team is “soft” and we do not hold up against Physical, hard nosed teams. We haven’t for the last couple of years now, or since Dawk left anyway. We are the 5′ 11″ highschool track star with a 3.8 GPA, and we will always get our asses kicked by the 6’2″ 250 lb nasty MLB with a 2.0 GPA… “When I die, I want the Philadelphia Eagles to be the pallbearers at my funeral. So they can let me down, one last time.”

  • http://twitter.com/dazloki Darren Symons

    not that anyone needs to be reminded of this, but we’re 1-3 at home… that ain’t cool! only the colts and dolphins are worse.