Dallas, Philly Both Suck – 2nd Half Thread
Posted: November 11th, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 361 Comments »Vick has a concussion. He’s out and the Nick Foles Era has begun.
Nick is 3 of 5 for 18 yards. I like what I’m seeing from him. He looks the part. Some guys are spastic and jittery. Nick is calm. Took a big hit from Ware and got right up. Made one bad throw, when he went to the right side for the third play in a row. Dallas DB jumped the route and should have picked it off. Got lucky there. Can’t throw to the same spot over and over.
The end of the half was a clusterfudge. Andy Reid was smart not to call a timeout prior to the Dallas punt. We were going to get the ball deep in our territory. With a backup OL and rookie QB, no reason to be aggressive. We should have lined up and run the ball from the I-formation 3 straight times. That would have ended the half. No harm, no foul.
For some idiotic reason, we lined up in the shotgun and Dallas was firing off the edges. 1st down was an ugly run. Dallas was offside so that wiped it out. On 1st/5 we lined up shotgun and tried to run wide. No gain. 2nd down we line up shotgun and throw to Havili in the right flat. He stupidly runs out of bounds. Dumb by him, but dumb by the coaches to put him in that spot. Run up the fricking middle. It isn’t rocket science. 3rd down was a short run. We then punted. Dallas just took a knee.
Any of the shotgun snaps could have been an issue. Shady getting hit in the backfield could have been a problem. Throwing the ball was dumb. There’s no upside. Just run the damn ball up the middle. Thankfully Dallas didn’t make a play or block the unnecessary punt.
Dumb football.
Good news is 2 sacks and regular pressure on Romo. That was good to see.
We’re down 10-7. Should be interesting to see what happens.
_
Let’s Go!!!
funny how much better the D looks when the line gets pressure.
Good defense?
Pressure on the QB?
You know, if we had this earlier…
I liked what I saw from Cox on that series.
(giggles)
Johnson not a fan of returning punts, it seems…
I don’t know why we don’t see Desean returning more punts!
What team is that out there with the green jerseys getting all the sacks?
Dallas is making our pass rush look the way our defensive makes other teams’ rushing attacks look.
Bright side, we have 3 sacks.
I’m liking the D right now.
Agree, although your statement made me chuckle due to my weakness for 5th grade humor.
Fletcher Cox is Reid’s best 1st round pick, save McNabb — so far
Foles, lets go now!
Nice alligator arms there Mac.
Horrible. Hate to see that.
For who, for what?!
Yep.
Nice.
if avant wasn’t injured I would bench Maclin!
Man, Maclin suxs
Would you still bench him? 😉 Maybe he does not suck 😉
Thank god avant is injured. Lol
Hahahahaha
holding? Not pass interference? The ball was in the air…
Looked like PI to me as well. He was grabbing Cooper the entire time, including while the ball was in the air.
Agreed.
Love how Foles read the blitz and went deep
Didn’t panic… very nice.
NICK FOLES
Mr Vick, meet Mr Bench.
Yeehaw!
Wow!!!!
YEEEAAAAA!!!
And a legend is born.
What a great blitz pickup
BRYCE BROWN, baby! Should have been drafted earlier than the 6th
Wait, are you saying the scouts made a mistake? 🙂
NO TAPE!
wat were u guys saying about maclin lol
I love Maclin!
What were we just saying? Maclin’s great?
Wheeeeee!!!!
EFF Yeah, hard not to be excited right now!
I’m ready to offer my hand in marriage, but I think that will just scare Nick.
qb controversy in 3… 2… 1…
Tommy, the blitz pickup, AWESOME
That’s the only reason that play happens.
That’s why Dion Lewis does not play.
Yep. Gotta block the blitz to burn it.
America, fuck yeah!
I love that Foles got the TD, but I would like to see when Maclin got open vs. when Foles threw the pass. Seems to me that Foles was likely late with that throw considering Mac brought it down like it was a punt. Of course, that’s nit picking, but I think it is valuable in terms of evaluating Foles as the future QB.
mostly a little late, but a bit too rainbow.
True. Still, either way I am happy he moved away from the blitz and did find the open man.
Right now, Vick is in the locker room wondering why they can’t block the blitz like that for him…also probably wondering what year it is and where he is, but I digress.
They don’t block for Vick because he gets happy feet and starts running around… With Foles the O-Line knows the spot he’s going to be and can take proper angles…
Did anyone else see that guy’s ass?
Wait, what?
Re: TD to Maclin
Does Vick scamble on that play? Who knows.
Foles — IMHO — has better pocket awareness than MV. Maybe because he’s slow.
But that kind of *patience* and *sliding around the pocket* is what makes for a successful passing game.
______________
Maclin . . . that was for what.
Seriously, if you’re gonna get hit anyway, catch the damn ball
Based on the preseason and so far in this game, I do think Foles has better pocket awareness. Part of that is because Foles seems to recognize where the pressure is coming from, and part of that is Vick simply does not.
Hey may not have been alive for the TD pass he had went full speed into that ball. For life, that’s what. lol
Not enough actual reps to tell, man. I can say that Vick would have hit that throw. He usually does, like djax last week.
3 and out would be awesome right now.
The #1 thing I’ve liked about DeMeco Ryans is that when he tackles people they don’t keep moving forward gaining yards, so even if he tackles someone 1yd short of the sticks there’s a good chance they won’t make it.
Somehow I have a good feeling about this one….
Me too. We don’t have to be fancy
I’m getting one too’ which wopens me up to being crushed.”.
Really like the fact that Foles is not afraid to throw to a covered receiver. I thought Vick waited too many times for the guy to come open.
I wish they would run out of an I formation SOMETIMES
Ok, as much as I want to see Foles, what happened to the run game? Can we get a few runs at some point?
Don’t you remember? Short pass = run in this offense…
There we go!
There we go again!
Maclin close to a “taunting” penalty on that…
Close to taunting = the perfect amount of taunting vs Dallas.
Very nice…
That was an interstate for McCoy.
This team is finally fired up. Playing like they know they can win
I hate to jump to conclusions, but does any one else notice that Foles doesn’t seem to be constantly under pressure behind this Oline. Who knows, maybe someone other than Vick CAN survive behind this line.
It does seem that way, I think it’s a matter of players finally stepping up
Dallas is being very conservative in calling blitzes. And of course, one of those blitzed failed spectacularly. The OL is still H O R R I B L E.
King Dunlap with the tackle…
saw that
Whoa, a Johnson sighting!
Damn King
That Dunlap penalty wiped out a great play by Foles and Johnson there.
Yep.
Good playcalling. Take the 3
Haha. We apparently completely disagree.
With a tested veteran, I would agree with you. Nick’s confidence is good right now. Ware can get a strip-sack-TD at any moment. Take the 7 point and let the kid walk off the field thinking he did some good things.
Agreed.
Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Give him the positive out. And we’re still up a td now.
couldn’t disagree more. You have the fg shot either way, take one more shot down the field.
Not a fan of that call at all.
I don’t mind at all. Dallas rushed 3, dropped 8 into coverage. Chance for INT with that many guys out there.
Even if you run though, might as well use McCoy on that play to give you a better chance. Running Brown on that play is both riskier and a give up play.
I’ll give my opinion on that after the game. Too long for here, now.
That’s fair. I just think at this point in the season, you need to at the very least use your best players when you are that close to the endzone.
we seriously have to lead the league in awesome plays negated by bonehead penalties.
REALLY?! COME ON!
Not a great series for King there. Tackles Maclin on a WR screen, hands to the face negates first down, forgets to come out for FG attempt, costing team a timeout.
When you make Bell into the second worse OT on the field, you are having a bad day.
Tweet it!
Take it, I don’t tweet.
Nor do I… seems way too addictive.
I just tweeted it out.
I’m personally fine with that run call on 3rd down.. just take the 3
Yeah you need 15, you could throw a pick, agreed.
Pick-6 by Nate Allen would feel really good right now.
Anyone else see Babin’s jersey being pulled down?
Seems like the Cowboys expected the Eagles to play the way they have the past 4 weeks.
Not this time, Special Agent Utah
WOW. Got to get that sck
Ugh. Just… ugh.
They should have had him twice on that one.
Can’t even tackle a QB smh
i swear i saw a hold and a block in the back there
Great play there by Romo. Can’t blame D-line too much there. Tough for those big guys to start and stop.
No catch. Also, not PI.
Agreed. How do you call that?
Wish I had confidence in the D. TD here either way.
There’s always a chance Romo does something stupid.
yeah….that’s not a good call. They’re both going for the ball there.
I knew the eagles would find a way to lose…
Uh oh… Mike Pereira thinks it wasn’t a catch… so it probably is…
Kiss of death.
and there it is smh
Pass Interference? Are you f-ing kidding me?
Wow wtf, cheating blatantly.
Because of the bullshit PI call I don’t really mind the play standing, I don’t think we would hold Dallas from scoring a TD with 1st and goal from the one
This guy must have been calling the Nebraska-PSU game too.
Lost a timeout.
That wasn’t a Reid challenge.
No. Scoring plays are automatically reviewed.
No. It was a booth review.
Wait, what?! How can that possibly stand?
I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that the referee sounds like Ross Perot.
Re: Where’s the Blitz?
Bowles lightening up on the blitzes . . . and Romo getting time.
Seems that way, at least.
Tackling, Eagles don’t know how to do it
Fuck, defense had Romo dead to rights the previous 3rd down too. Need to finish these plays.
That was an amazing play by DRC
Agreed, in the real world, he saved a td.
We got a kickoff return beyond the 20! Repeat: We got a kickoff return beyond the 20!
Wow. That was a terrible decision by Foles.
Reprieve much?
wow, Claiborne just bailed out Foles.
Poor decision, but I’ve heard QB’s say that they will throw at DL’s all day because chances are they won’t catch.
Please don’t be hurt Mathis…
Mathis gimpy… not good. Tell Mudd to suit up!
That was a really ugly series.
Ok . . . two bad pases by Foles. Bailed out twice.
The first one as god awful, but that second one I didn’t really have an issue with. Thrown to the sideline and the only person who could possibly have made a clean catch was the WR, not the defender.
No . . . the dropped INT on his first series.
Then Spencer’s INT.
Oh, got it. Yea I agree with that.
Bobby April… your thoughts?
That is crushing.
Eugene Chung will get fired for that ST crap.
Eagles is trying to suck in all three phases of the game
And when did the Predator start returning punts?
That was just a soul crushing return right there.
Meh… pick 6, punt return TD, same difference
It’s like “Final Destination” for football.
Our STs are terrible
Well… at least we get to see more Foles…
Yeah . . . that Chas Henry really needs to go.
Oh, that was McBriar?! Hmmm.
Rocca makes that tackle..
rocca forces a fumble
Rocca takes his raggedy head off.
So do most place kickers . . .
Am I only one who saw a block in the back?
Just one?
This team isn’t mentally tough enough to make a comeback at this point.
Nice hustle Dunlap. Well, there goes what was left of the season.
oops.
Jackson looked pissed.
King just gave up on trying to make tackle. Cut him.
This just in, we’re losing by 14 to the Dallas Cowboys.
Not good.
Good news is that we might stick with Foles. Important to see what he can do.
Right… we could get the nebulous “Vick needs to rest for another week” – so Reid wouldn’t have to officially wave the white flag just yet.
fingers in ears LALALALALALALALALALALALALALA!!! Best recovery to Vick! Come back soon!
Also good, their offense is going to be cold and stiff if they ever get back on the field.
This feels like the 05 cowboys game
GGGGRRRRRRrrrrrr…
This is why I get annoyed at the Foles people. He’s not talented enough to just play, like Russell Wilson, RG3, or Luck. And a bad pass kills us!
The other guy is just as bad, and has been around for a lot longer. Stop defending Vick, it’s over for him.
actually to me it looked like carr pushed desean before he got to the ball
That pass was 12 to 18 inches off target, in the first game of his career. Don’t be silly.
This. Considering he hasn’t even been getting a fraction of snaps at practice, in a very high pressure game, he’s doing remarkably well.
And Jackson had his hands on it, twice.
I don’t know if you are arguing otherwise, but even though Jackson got his hands on it, that INT was on Foles.
It’s not just that pass. He’s thrown a number a really bad ideas today, with two at least for the Grace of God go I passes. And I’m pretty sure I’m the one not silly.
Foles still has a ton of progress to make, there is no question about that, but Vick has played awful all season. One guy is a rookie, the other is a seasoned vet.
Deja Vu? lol
Aaaand that’s the season.
At this point, AR may be hoping to get fired.
Regular Season Game Speed . . . Foles missed by half a step.
Key is for Foles to concentrate on 1st downs. Move the chains, good things will happen.
Eek. Amazing catch. Poor throw though.
Re: Foles
Regular season game speed.
No practice with 1st team.
He’s doing pretty well
+1
Please cut Dunlap tonight.
Can we just go to three down linemen on offense?
can we change Dunlap’s number to 1st&20?
He’s been a penalty machine today.
Goddamnit, what the fuck, bad enough we got our rookie QB out there we got King Dunlap shitting all over the field.
It would be nice if our remaining linesman could just have a quiet night.
Screw you Joe Buck. Your punk ass does not get to call the end of anyone’e tenure.
Especially when you’re about a year late to the party.
I just hate him more than any other announcer.
More than Joe Theismann?
Yep. Theiseman is just a moron, Buck is a pompous jackass.
I hear that. Plus one.
Air going out of Eagles
Yeah… this is like when a doctor is manically doing chest compressions and another doctor has to pull him off the patient.
“He’s gone doctor, He’s gone.”
This game changed on that 3rd down where Romo did his escape. Hopefully we IR Vick and let Foles make his mistakes in this lost season.
Yep this season is over. Might as well give Foles some first team prep time
We need a play out of our defense. Come one D, sometimes you have to help out the young QB
They owe us a big play. Or 2.
I don’t even know what to say about this team anymore
All is not lost: there’s a new “Homeland” tonight.
Walking Dead for me.
And Dexter
And “Walking Dead.”
And Good Wife. Yea, I said it
put desean back there
Damaris “Fair Catch” Johnson with the fair catch.
Good night. I hate the Cowboys… can’t believe they are going to win.
Bobby April should be fired. Todd Bowles is not an upgrade. Good luck in San Diego Reid. At one point I thought you were the answer.
Grrr…..
Foles hasn’t thrown a pass in anger since late August.
All in all, he’s done okay.
That said, we’ve gotten to see how important a *serious* commitment to the running game is.
Teams just do not take the Eagles seriously about running. They know, at some point, MM will just dial it down.
Not really okay. This is mostly like Kirk Cousins after RG3 went down. One nice play, and then hell.
Not even the Redskins are as bad up front as the Birds
I would agree with Foles doing OK. Kid hasn’t had practice time and came in cold off the bench with no running game to speak of.
Definitely needs to improve of course.
I see Foles has been watching film of Eli.
At least someone else sees it. Today reminded me more of “Bad Eli” than anyone else.
That throw was insane.
no kidding
sometimes it pays to be a little crazy
It looked a lot like Vick’s pick in the back of the endzone.
Over/Under on Super Bowls Reid wins with the Chargers: 3
Under, but he just might win 1
Not a fan of that throw despite it being completed. Way to risky of a throw.
T-Law:
Has Cooper replaced Maclin on 1st down / 2 WR sets?
Twice in a row dunlap has gotten away with offsides…lol
false start
Maybe this isn’t fair, but it feels like this team doesn’t hustle when they need to (i.e. two scores in -4:00).
There’s Demetress Bell!
Ole Bell!!!
How does he not score on that play? Why did he dive?
cuz he’s a rookie
or at least get out of bounds!!!
yep
Methinks he was channeling his inner Marlon Favorite…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CazR4M_Hxc
That’s hilarious baloophi.
Why am I yelling at them to hurry up when this game is over??? What’s wrong with me?
I’m right there with you. Because you’d feel better to see them really hoofing it like they believed they still had a shot.
They needed to score before the two minute warning. Thanks to Dunlap there aren’t enough timeouts.
there isn’t
We’re all suckers. Part of Eagles Fan DNA.
Hope: it dies slowly. And painfully.
Alcohol helps.
Because we are Eagle fans. No matter how cynical we are, deep down we always want them to win!
The damn rollout inside the 10 hasn’t worked in an f’n decade! This is why you’ll be unemployed soon. Try the shovel pass from split back set next. Nobody is waiting for that either.
That sums up the season with that xp
I just called that! I told my wife – “how about a missed PAT”. Unbelievable.
Wait, your wife pays attention to the game? And you are talking to us?
I’m a very lucky guy!
All I can do is laugh at this point.
Missed the x point. LOL…They’re still playing the fly eagles fly song? That’s a violation!
That kick really epitomizes the season right there
Yep.
Eagles ST ladies and gentlemen
Quality drive led by Foles there. Got lucky on that one pass to Maclin, but still led the rest of the drive very well.
The last 2 kicks were great. Yep. It was all Akers fault.
Come on defense! We need a flukish miracle!
stuffed im.
stuff #2
4th down
This feels like 2005
It does.
It does… but I have less hair.
sans mike mcmahon and his crazy eyes
I’d hate to be an ink cartridge in NovaCare the rest of the season with all the upcoming resume printing.
hoping for a 3 n out n put desean jackson at PR
Was the confusion on the onsides kick intentional or are our STs really that inept? It’s amazing how terrible they are at times.
Who is that Witten guy with the onsides kick recovery. Keep making plays like that on special teams and he might make a name for himself.
He’s one to keep an eye on for sure.
When was the last time we scored more than 20? How times change.
miracle at Lincoln Financial????
I was hoping Moorman would Matt Dodge that punt.
Why put Desean back there now… and not earlier in the 4th?
nostalgia for matm2
no. THAT sums up the season.
The cherry on top.
that looked painful.
Cut Bell please. Bell should be off this team sooner rather than later
I think, when we look back at this season years from now, the biggest mystery will be how we ever won 3 games.
Close ones, too.
or y bell was ever signed
Im surprised that Hatcher’s helmet didnt fall off on that TD.
Why did we onside kick there?! The fuck? We cost ourselves 30 yards of field position with that shit.
It was simultaneously a slap in the face of our defense and our offense.
worth a go. Foles with 1 minute no timeout vs ~2mins and 2 timeouts.
satire?
How are our OTs earning a paycheck in the league??
call me crazy, but I’d like to see Foles take it down the field here.
good practice if nothing else.
There are plenty of seats available at the game for you to do so.
Got to keep fighting
It took a while, but the Eagles O-line — along with Special Teams — proved the team’s undoing.
Also the coaching. And the lack of tackling.
no argument.
Agreed. OLine and ST killed us. Wow. I hate the Cowboys…
No Excuses. If your season sucks you have to beat the Cowboys.
can’t wait for the ar presser
that was amusing.
Well. That was some crap. Looking like we’ll have a high draft pick… to waste.
we could use it for an OT to protect Foles next season
The book is out on dunlap. Loose chinstraps the rest of the season…
I do feel bad in the sense that his height makes it hard not to be punching at head-level…
Marty out did himself with that playcalling
Seems that in a game like this — with your rookie QB who’s taken no snaps w/ the 1st team all year now in the game — the O.C. would want to *shorten* the game.
That is, run the ball more.
I think Desean was trying to do that on the third-to-last play by not going out of bounds… but Foles spiked the ball, allowing for Marty’s inanity.
Foles still has a ton of improving to do, but I do hope he continues to play this season. 22/32 for 220 yards and 1 td is not a bad start. The 1 INT and 1 fumble (plus he had 2 other bad throws) were troublesome but frankly, I would rather a rookie make those mistakes than a seasoned veteran.
Absolutely. It’s all about context. Those mistakes are forgivable in his situation, not Vick’s.
Oh, I’m grading on that curve. But you know? It’s not just the mistakes. It’s how much help he needs from everyone else to do his job. It’s way more than what’s good for someone who can honestly start.
Considering some of the other rookies this year I really don’t even think these excuses hold up. Some of those throws he made out there were rather troubling… and would have been met with apoplectic rage were it Vick who made the same decisions.
but… yeah, he gets rid of the ball faster, so… wheeeeeeeee!
O-Line still sucks, Andy and Marty are calling weird plays at random points of the game… defense not helping enough.
FFWD to 2013 already.
I wouldn’t.
**shudders**
There wasn’t any + plays by Foles (as the main big-timer), and plenty of minuses.
Your Vick bias is unbelievable. Foles did throw a TD, he did lead another TD drive (and basically did everything but score the TD on that drive), also had another scoring drive that without a dumb Dunlap penalty, would have resulted in a huge play to Johnson that was created largely by Foles’ ability to escape the pocket and then make a good throw on the run. In other words, In 2.5 QTRs, Foles led this offense to 17 points, exactly what Vick has been averaging per game throughout the season. On top of alll of that, Vick is a veteran who is not going to improve, Foles is a guy coming in for his first game ever and learning on the fly. Foles is only going to improve.
I’m not arguing that Foles is some stud QB, but Vick has been awful all season and there is no reason to keep him back there when the season is over and you have a promising rookie who played at a decent level, and arguably a very comparable level to Vick.
For someone with no prep time, Foles did pretty well
The kid did OK. Coming in cold with probably no practice time with the ones you can’t really expect him to be outstanding. Next week will be an important game for him. He should get all the practice time with the 1s. Obviously, we need to see him improve.
Re: Rest of Schedule / Season
I think there’s a serious question whether this team can win another game.
You’d think they will. But, jeez, who knows.
Right. Well, this will be the proverbial “give up on the coach” conundrum. Some guys will play for jobs elsewhere, but I can’t imagine anyone giving max effort… especially since they didn’t seem to tonight in what was a make-or-break game.
Only reason for me to watch rest of the season is to see whether Foles is good enough to start and who should be back next year.
Eagles really took all the offseason hype and crapped all over it
Best thing I’ve heard in the last hour: Didinger: “The Cowboys are going to be talking about how they are back in this thing, but they’re not, they’re terrible too.” LOL
Something that made me feel better in the last hour is what I meant to say.
Did anyone other than me notice how many times Dunlap gotta away with a tenth of a second jumping offsides without being called? I saw three.
10-6 is still a possibility guys.
I can’t imagine that with this team. This was a total team collapse
Neither can I…lol…but hey, what the frig am I going to talk about at Thanksgiving?
I think you will watch the Redskins shut-out the Cowboys and talk about how on earth we managed to lose to such a terrible team.
I remember in 2006 I told my bro in law they weren’t going to lose another game after going 4-5 and Mcnabb getting hurt. After losing one more to the Colts they didn’t lose. Feel good stat of the day.
K guys, times yours, I’ve said enough.
Remember when a sliver of hope was restored with the Havili touchdown, and then Henery blew the PAT? Classic.
Andy Reid just took responsibility
Really?
Dead serious dude.
Akers is imploding in OT in Sanny Franny… guess you can take the guy out of the Eagles, but can’t take the Eagles out of him…
Just saw the kick. Hate that for him, but I am cheering for STL.
Did you see that penalty on the 80 yard Amendola pass? Crushing…
Second year in a row the year is over in early November. I remember Super Bowl year we wrapped home field by Thanksgiving. Happy times.
And then TO turns into a crazy person the season after
Tommy a few things I want you to look for when you rewatch the game please. Dunlap, among all the stupid things he did, appears to get away with 3 false starts, I mean a tenth of a second before the ball is snap.
Also, was there a guy blocked in the back on the Dallas punt return? Or was he blocked in the side. I told my g/f that was coming back I was so sure of it, thought I saw it again on the replay.
Tony Romo getting out of that sack, the td catch that wasn’t, and it would’ve been a pass interference that wasn’t. I’m not whining, Eagles lost and they deserved to, just wondering what you saw.
Cox (I think) whiffed on an arm tackle of Romo and the rest is history
Someone else also missed him on that play, I’m pretty sure. Gotta get me one of them VCR’s so I can record these games. LOL
Cole and Cox missed on the first wave, Babin missed on the second.
There was a couple of waves..lol
What the heck was Dunlap doing on the pick-six? How in God’s name wasn’t he able to get his huge frame in front of Brandon Carr and stop the TD?? I know it doesn’t matter, but what a pathetic lack of effort.
This is the lowest I’ve felt as an Eagles’ fan in recent memory. (SB loss was a different low.)
The specter of a new regime is equal parts exciting, equal parts depressing. Cross your fingers that Lurie doesn’t blow it…
I’m actually not that depressed. If Vick had played the whole game and we lost like this…yes. Getting Foles in made things feel very different.
I still think its depressing because of how we lost. Letting Romo escape the easy sack, that leads to a TD drive, followed by a punt return TD, followed by a caromed off a players knee int TD. Those were like body blows.
Felt the same way. Eagles’ offense was scuffling along when Vick got knocked out. Some good, some bad from Foles but it was interesting for a change of pace nevertheless.
Is any one really surprised?
what a disappointing way to go down. The team had finally started playing with some fight only to have special teams followed by an incredibly unlucky bounce crush them. They were by no means good, but the defense played with grit for a while, McCoy ran well, Foles was pretty good from coming in out nowhere and they still get crushed by 20….
Foles looks very poised as a rookie. The looks the part of QB. That’s encouraging. Really only made 2 bad throws, the prayer that Mac caught and the int to spencer that was called back. The ball to mac that was almost picked and throw to avant were because of a slip on the sloppy field, not poor throw or decision making. He did throw two slants slightly behind a receiver, but they were catchable.
Interesting how little pressure he seemed to be under despite running almost exclusively from 3 and 4 WR sets…
Challenges for the Next Eagles Head Coach-
The next Eagles head coach faces tough challenges. I’ll try to list them in order of importance:
1) Burn heart and passion into this team. It currently has none. The next Eagles head coach needs to be a combination of Vince Lombardi and Ray Lewis.
2) Figure out who are football players and who are imposters. I’ll try to give a head start. Nnamdi and DRC are imposters.
3) Figure out whose talent level has been overrated. Here’s another head start. Babin, Celek, Allen.
4) Try to figure out why these guys are on the team. Dunlap, Bell, Matthews, Polk, Hunt, Tapp and several others.
5) Burn true leadership into Jackson, McCoy, Cox and Kendricks if possible (not just BS). They are your nucleus. Figure out why DeMeco Ryans’ leadership hasn’t taken.
6) Don’t expect special teamers to be starters. See Coleman, Jordan, Sims, etc.
7) Hold your special teams coach and players accountable. Special teams is man on man. Watch the films and see who is not getting the job done. HINT – if your special teams are among the leagues worst in consecutive years under the same coach, that is a big part of the issue.
8) Find a QB. Another HINT – it’s not Vick. Maybe it’s Foles, maybe not, but have solid options that can run a basic offense and not lose games. HINT – Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer won Super Bowls.
9) Learn from the past. It’s hard to understand how a team that went into a season with its OL and DL as its strengths foundered so badly in both areas. Blaming injuries on the OL is easy, but why was there no depth when cap space wasn’t an issue? Why did we have 5 RB’s and 12 DL’s?
10) Be OK with cutting out the cancer. This team has to take a step back to move forward. Players like Nnamdi, DRC, Dunlap and Bell have to go. It’s better to have lesser talents giving full efforts than these guys punching the time clock.
As a former under-skilled athlete that competed at a fairly high level, I can identify dogs fairly easily. This Eagles team has too many dogs. I can see it. So do former Eagles like Trotter, Westbrook and Reese as well as others like Teddy Bruschi and more. The Eagles are like a bad NBA team playing out the string. You cannot succeed in the NFL without heart and passion. The next head coach needs to bring it.
This was some of the most inept/pathetic OL displays by both teams that I could remember in a game. Maybe not the 2 worst OLs right now in the NFL but probably bottom 5.
Interested to watch Foles/RG III showdown but that about all there is look forward to next week.