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.