Tragedy in the NFL

So close yet so Far

The Eagles put up an impressive game on Sunday versus the New England Patriots. Two plays into the game QB A.J. Feeley dropped back threw an interception returned for a TD, and everyone thought to themselves, "here we go again". But surprisingly the birds fought back the very next drive, with a TD of their own. And from there on out it was a dog fight to the very end. The Eagles D had it's ups and downs but against a high explosive offense like the Patriots, they did an outstanding job in the long run. The D only allowed 48 rushing yards which is very good in consideration that the Pats are a very physical football team and can without hesitation run all over you. On the other hand it appeared they didn't need to run the ball because QB Tom Brady was 34/54 for 380 yards and 1 TD. The downside to the Eagles offense was the 3 turnovers in comparison to the Patriots zero turnovers. And our turnovers lay on one mans shoulders A.J. Feeley. Feeley threw 3 INTs which was disappointing considering how well he did other than those 3 passes. A big part of the success of the offense was the clutch, long time Eagles wide receiver, Greg Lewis. Lewis led the entire team in yards, ave. yards, Td's, and longest reception. Lewis hasn't seen much time this year, but this game may have bought him some more. Next week the birds are playing (7-4) Seattle, who lead there division. The eagles are going to have to put up another hard fought game, if they want to win this one.

Another Day Another Struggle

The Eagles started off strong on Sunday, playing both offensively and defensively sound. In the first half the Birds had 3 scores and were ahead 17-10 at the end of the half. The second half however the Eagles slowed down and had only 2 field goals. Brian Westbrook RB for the Eagles had himself another good game. Westbrook had 46 rushing yards, 46 receiving yards, and 2 TD's. However, the Eagles offense is still struggling in the red zone and if they want to improve on that L.J. Smith TE must get healthier and start catching those TD's in the red zone that he has done so well in his career. Defensively they played a solid game allowing only 256 total yards and 1 TD. The defensive line had there motors going and it showed with 4 sacks, one of those sacks taking out starting QB Kelly Holcomb. So now that they have that pressure being put on the QB the rest of the defense has to start being play makers and make something happen. The Eagles have a tough one coming up this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. The only suggestion I can say about this game is the Eagles better snap on the helmets, tie up their cleats, and bring it on Sunday. Oh, and if Andy Reid doesn't get his home life fixed he's never going to be able to put the time and energy into his other family, his football team.

Philly Squeaks By

Well the birds got another W but it wasn't pretty. The Eagles record is now 2-3 and they may be able to improve that record if they continue to get healthy and stay healthy. The return of Brian Westbrook(RB) was a good sign of that. Westbrook had 20 carries for 120 yards, averaging 6 yards a carry which is above the league average. Along with Westbrook, William Thomas(OT), the man that protects McNabbs blind side had a good game as well. Thomas gave up one tough sack, but followed with a number of pancake blocks. Another player returning from injury was Sheldon Brown(CB), who had a good game also, Brown had the teams only interception, along with 5 solo tackles. Staying with the D, the game overall not so impressive if they want to compete against Dallas in their division. The birds aloud 158 yards rushing, which is not too bad, however with a shaky O like the Jets they should have been able to shut them down easily. One great stat was the 109 yards and 1 Int in the air. The eagles banged up secondary shut the Jets pass game down even with the absence of Lito Sheppard(CB) and Brian Dawkins(FS), not to mention Sheldon Brown had just returned. The best thing for the Eagles to do now is forget about that week, get healthy, and get ready for an outstanding defense in the Chicago Bears. If the birds want to win this game, they must have a flawless day offensively, and make some big plays on a terrible Bears offense. GO BIRDS!!!

Eagles get blown out in New York.

What looked like a promising week 3 against the Lions turned into a disappointing loss in New York. The Eagles are now 1-3 and 0-2 in their division. The first 2 quarters looked like the Eagles could have a close game, but the second half Philly couldn't get anything to go their way. Extensive injuries to Philadelphia's starters really showed on Sunday night. William Thomas, the Eagles left tackle, was sorely missed with 6 sacks coming from his side. Winston Justice was the man to replace Thomas, but obviously those shoes were to big for Justice to fill. Osi Umenyiora, the Giants defensive end, absolutely destroyed Justice, running around, over, and through the second year man out of USC. He tied a Giants record for most sacks in a game, along with that record New York set records for most sacks in a game, and opposite Umenyiora, Micheal Strahan set a record for career sacks. Besides the offensive line getting demolished, Eagles safety Brian Dawkins, and cornerback Lito Sheppard were sadly missed as well. Although the Giants didn't put up impressive numbers on offense, with only 135 yards passing and 83 yards rushing, the hard hitting Dawkins and the sticky Sheppard were most definitely missed. And the last thing I have to say about this game is about our "team leader" Donovan McNabb. Now we all know he didn't have his number one weapon in Brian Westbrook, but that's no excuse for how he played. He was holding onto the ball too long, throwing balls in the dirt, and couldn't find the open receivers in time. Although he put up big time numbers against Detroit, it may be time for the era of Kevin Kolb to take over. He no longer can scramble, he doesn't have a big time receiver in T.O. anymore, he's overthrowing on the long ball, and appears to just be too slow on all accounts.

The Man of the Week

WR Kevin Curtis puts up 11 rec. 221 yds. and 3 TDs

Eagles vs. Redskins