Gameday, Baby!

Posted: November 5th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 31 Comments »

Are you ready to go?  I’m fired up.  Big time opportunity tonight for the Eagles to right the ship and get a big win.

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I wrote a preview for PE.com.

If you prefer to hear my genius, Jimmy Bama and I did a game preview show.  The first 20 mins are us discussing the other NFC East losses from yesterday’s glorious NFL action.

* * * * *

So what are some keys to tonight’s game?

We must score points.  Simple as that.  The Saints average 27 points a game.  If we have a great game, we’ll hold them to 20.  That means we need a minimum of 3 TDs (or a crapload of FGs).  I know we’re 28th in scoring.  I know the offense has struggled.  We also haven’t faced the Saints defense, which is the single worst unit in the entire NFL.

We need a minimum of 5 stops.  Doesn’t matter if they come in the form of 3rd defense leading to punts, 4th down defense giving us the ball, or takeaways.  We need 5 Saints drives that don’t end in points.

We need to make plays.  When the ball is in the air, we need to catch it (on offense or defense).  When receivers are open, Vick must get it to them.  When rushers get free, they must hit Brees.  When skill players get the ball in space, they must maximize those gains.  When the ball is on the ground, an Eagle needs to recover it (on offense or defense).  This year has been filled with “almosts” and close calls.  We need those to now start becoming big plays.

OL must block well.  The Saints really struggle in coverage.  The receivers need time to get open.  Vick needs time to get them the ball.  If the line can do just a solid job, the offense should put up 27 or 28 points and deliver some big plays.

D must tackle well.  The Saints don’t have the fastest skill players in the world with Darren Sproles hurt and Robert Meachem playing for the Chargers.  They are still very talented and Brees knows how to get his guys the ball.  We’ll give up 10 yards here and there.  Maybe 15 or 20.  The key is not to give up the huge plays.  Make them work the ball down the field.  Brees is only completing 59.7 percent of his passes this year.  The Saints aren’t sustaining drives like they did in the past.

Don’t be afraid of ghosts.  The Saints are 2-5.  They needed a 4th quarter comeback to beat the Chargers and then beat the Bucs in a shootout.  The 1-win Chiefs got their only win…in New Orleans.  The 2-win Panthers got their first win…vs New Orleans.  The Saints won the Super Bowl in 2009.  They went 11-5 and 13-3 after that.  This isn’t the same team.  Sean Payton isn’t coaching this year.  Steve Spagnuolo is the new DC.  LG Carl Nicks is gone.  So is Meachem.  So is their mojo.  The Saints still have plenty of talent, but don’t lose to the ghost of teams past.  The current Saints are 2-5 for a reason.  They aren’t good.  Talented – yes.  Dangerous – yes.  Good?  No.

I will get worried if the Eagles don’t score in the 1st quarter.  I will be very worried if the Eagles have 3 or 6 points at halftime.  We must score points.

If Vick and the offense don’t get going tonight, we might see changes.  This is the game where there are no excuses.  Crappy opponent.  Playing in a dome.  No worries about altitude or anything like that.  Produce or else.

* * * * *

Not sure if Nate Allen will play.  His presence would be a huge help.  If his hamstring isn’t good, David Sims will start in his place.  I’d love to think that Sims can be the next Bob Sanders, but he also could turn out to be the next Bob Denver.  Let’s hope Nate is ready.

_

  • lilmc

    Sitting here at work all fired up. Let’s go Birds!!!

  • GermanEagle

    Love to see you fired up, Tommy!

    Let’s all hope it’s worth watching tonight, especially for me in London when the kickoff won’t be before 1.30am! But I’ll be there, chaps! Go Eagles!!!

    • TommyLawlor

      That’s dedication. I sure hope the Eagles reward you.

      • Ark87

        Ah the pained relationship we all have with our team. I’m predicting the Eagles will win this game, in convincing fashion. See right now they all let us off easy, low expectations and all, they can’t disappoint us at this point. They MUST perform well, get a convincing winning streak going in order to eventually crush our souls like they do every other season.

        Heavy cynicism aside…we have 2 desperate teams coming off of bad performances, it’s anyone’s ball game.

    • P_P_K

      When we go into work tomorrow tired, everyone will appreciate we stayed up late watching MNF. Is there a similar understanding in England?

    • http://www.facebook.com/BoyboyACW Mike Roman

      Where are you in Germany? I was in Stuttgart during the Eagles bye week. Found an Irish pub that was showing the Ravens – Texans game.

  • http://www.facebook.com/xbcsmith Brett Smith

    A win would sure make the Atlanta pain subside. I am not ready to call the season a success based on record vs Cowboys yet… (meaning we suck but beating the Cowboys twice makes it ok)

  • AustinMax

    We have a habit of making crappy defenses look like Elite units…lets hope we reverse the trend….I actually would like David Sims to play…lets see what we have in him…Nate Allen and Kurt Coleman have been average to below average at best…..Coleman bites on every stupid play fake and I am sure Brees is gonna take advantage of that…

    • TommyLawlor

      Neither S has been below average. Both solid. You must watch other teams to appreciate them. Bad Safety play around the league right now.

      Sims looks like backup/STer, but you never know.

      • Mac

        All I’m asking of Sims is for him to get one pick 6 off of Brees. I think that’s reasonable ;)

        • TommyLawlor

          Seems reasonable enough to me.

          • The_Reddgie

            Imagine if Coleman gets hurt and we have Sims/Colt back there trying to defend against Brees. Yikes.

          • http://www.facebook.com/BoyboyACW Mike Roman

            *laughs nervously*

  • miked718

    Gotta get the win and stay on the Giants since it’s time for their annual November/December 1-4 stretch…

    • TommyLawlor

      I like this line of thinking.

  • T_S_O_P

    Followers of the Cards or the Vikes may have felt differently at the start of October than they now do at the start of November. Equally, the Lions looked pitiful before some random overtime victory away from their Den. Fools Gold up to this point, now is when a team can find its mettle, rise from adversity, throw of the chains of shittiness… Should I continue? I sound quite political, anything going on over there I could use this stuff on? Please Eagles, don’t disappoint. Finally, a note to Vick’s mojo, can you please return because frankly he is quite shite without you. Gooooooo Eagles!

  • Dave_King

    The season lives and dies right here. If they win tonight, we could conceivably see them use the momentum combined with their relatively easier schedule to get at least a 5 game winning streak. All of a sudden I’m super excited for this game, we might be about to see the start of something big. #13gamewinstreak

    Let’s make that hashtag a thing on twitter.

  • http://twitter.com/corry_k Corry Henry

    I have to have my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow morning at 9:15. I do not want my pain to start tonight at 8:30.

  • Ark87

    Spuds: “NEW ORLEANS — The stage is set for something special tonight. It just has that feel. All the elements are in place. The national stage, a team in search of itself, and thousands upon thousands of Eagles fans who made the trip here”

    Spuds gets that special feeling, he’s a different breed man. He makes that intro and I get queezy. The stage might be set for something special, or it might also be set for a legendary meltdown. Man I wish i could find some confidence right about now. Tommy hit me with something positive!

    God I hope the Eagles stand up under the spotlight and blow the saints out, just to shut the media up for a week.

    • DarthBanner

      Spuds is paid to get that special feeling. Like a prostitute.

  • BobSmith77

    ‘The Night Reid Era Died’ is going to be the byline for this game. I just don’t see Vick and the offense put up the points they need (say at least 27 to win this game).

    • http://www.facebook.com/BoyboyACW Mike Roman

      I totally agree. Everyone talks about the Saints horrible defense, but what has the Eagles offense shown to make us believe they can actually capitalize? I fear an a** pounding at the hands of New Orleans tonight.

    • Ark87

      C’mon man, let the game get played before you make a headline for the story. Leave the 1 line zingers to the saints fans. We are eagles fans, and there are a TON of haters out there, they don’t need our help.

  • http://www.facebook.com/BoyboyACW Mike Roman

    Regardless of a win tonight, and even next week, I think the conference is far too competitive for the Eagles to do anything this year. Maybe they can catch lightning in a bottle, but when you have a defense that can’t create pressure or turnovers, and an offense that can’t consistently sustain drives, you really can’t expect to win a lot of games.

    I think tonight’s game will be more telling for the defense than the offense. If the offense scores 23 or 24 against a bad saints defense then that doesn’t really mean much, long term. However, if the defense can get on track this week against Drew Brees, that could be a good sign for the rest of the season.

    I was thinking about the roster last night and what would happen if Reid is gone after this year. Out of 53 players, I couldn’t come up with a solid 20 who we “must have” back next year. Maybe that speaks loudly of the state of the team right now.

    Anyone want to debate / share their keeper lists?

    • A_T_G

      Speaking of a defense creating turnovers, you know who we should emulate in that department? The Bears, that’s who. If only we could find a d-coordinator who would study the Bears defense…

  • Arby1

    It’s now or never. Can’t go to 3 – 5 and hope to make the playoffs. Vick’s last stand, I’d assume, even though he’s improved with turnovers. I’m looking forward to seeing some semblance of the team we’ve all known these last 14 years. Let’s hope Andy’s still got a few tricks up his sleeve.

    • Ark87

      “Vick’s last stand, I’d assume, even though he’s improved with turnovers. ”
      Unless he wins…and then his last stand shall be postponed until next week…unless he wins that and so on…life in the NFL.

      It’s strange, stats say he’s gotten better with turn overs, and his QB rating against the blitz is supposedly high…..which a month ago i confidently proclaimed: “If Vick can stop these turnovers and improve against the blitz we will be back to dominant football” That was on the topic of being 3-1 and only winning by extremely slim margins….go figure he went and did what i wanted and we can’t win anymore. O is still dysfunctional (we might still be winning though if the D’s play didn’t go off a cliff) and my mind is officially blown.

  • phillychuck

    Weird list of in actives: Gilyard, Edwards, Curry (of course), Allen (inj), Tapp, Menkin, and Jenkins

  • http://twitter.com/corry_k Corry Henry

    We have 4 running backs active tonight (5 if you include Havili). So…why?

  • Dave_King

    As we know, there’s always hope, until hope is completely gone. There’s still hope. And to commemorate that, and celebrate the beginning of a new season and the Eagles rampaging through the league – let’s all tweet using my trademarked hashtag – #13gamewinstreak

    Let’s go Eagles! It ain’t over till it’s over!

  • DarthBanner

    I bet the Saints defense is just as excited to play our crappy offense as we are to play their crappy defense.