***
I was going to post some info on the Saints today, but didn't get around to studying last week's game yet. I'll do that on Thursday.
The topic du jour is still Kevin Kolb starting on Sunday. PE.com has a good interview with Kevin. He says some real interesting stuff. Check it out:
- Link -
I still get questions about whether Jeff Garcia should start over Kolb. No. You need to start Kevin. He's been here. He knows the playbook. He only missed a couple of weeks this summer. Other than that he's worked hard for this opportunity. If he struggles in the 1st half you can consider changing to Garcia. We really need to see exactly how he plays before we have that discussion. If Kevin looks hopeless, then I'm fine with the move. If he's just a bit rough around the edges, I stick with him.
One of the points I've made is that we need to see Kevin play to find out where he's at. Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that winning the Saints game isn't important and that the focus is on playing Kevin. Not at all.
I think Kevin is a talented player. I think he'll have good blocking and good weapons to work with. He's at home. He's got a good defense on his side. Kevin doesn't have to be a star for us to win this week. I think he can play well enough for us to win. I think the risk of playing him is worth it. I do fully understand that he could struggle mightily and cost us the game. If I thought that we had little to no shot of winning because of him, I would not play Kevin. I know some fans do feel that he kills our chance of winning. That's fine. We'll have to wait for Sunday to see what happens.
WESTY DEAL
Apparently the Eagles declined to pick up an option on Brian Westbrook's contract and he will now be a free agent after the 2010 season. He will turn 32 on 9/2/2011. At that point you have to wonder what kind of future Westy has. What kind of value does he have? I think the Eagles are smart to let him test the market if he likes. Hopefully Shady will show us enough that he can be the starter at that point. I'd love to keep Brian around as part of the mix. He can run, catch, and return kicks. Even if he's no longer a workhorse runner he has value. Or maybe some crazy owner will give him a big deal for past glory.
Brian Mitchell was a terrific role player for us and Westy has a lot more natural talent than B-Mitch. I could see Westy being a really good player for a while, especially if you get him back on punt returns. I'm just not sure how much longer he'll be a starting RB.
READER QUESTIONS
RE: Any worries about Trent Cole wearing down?
I think we have a deep enough DL that we'll be okay. You want Trent on the field for 45 or so snaps a game. He does play hard, though, and you do need to make sure he's not doing too much. Sean will watch him closely. Trent is our best player in the front seven. You have to balance keeping him fresh with keeping him on the field.
RE: Justice vs recent Runyan
Jon was still far more physical. Winston is far more athletic. It is hard for me to compare the two guys in depth because Justice only has the one game of significant playing time. Consistency is the hallmark of good players. Winston hasn't shown anything in that area. A good game on Sunday would give him 2 in a row and make him and me feel better.
Winston had some good moments in the opener, but I'm still waiting for the one block or set of blocks that gets me excited. Just going off memory I know Jon had some great blocks in the ATL game last year that paved the way for Westy. Justice has nothing like that so far.
RE: Roadhouse
I'm told it is a great "bad movie". I don't mean to disparage it. Here is a great review of it:
- Link -
_
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I like the "No." part of the post about whether or not to start Garcia over Kolb. I get the sense you're tired of answering those questions :).
Is it true that Jammal Brown is out for the Saints game? Trent Cole lining up against a backup sounds like a recipe for a big game. I imagine we'll move him around the formation a bit to make it hard for them to scheme extra help against him.
I think pressure is really the only way to slow down the Saints passing attack, you gotta keep bringing it because good QB's will eat you alive if you give them too much time, regardless of how many people you drop into coverage.
Pressure is clearly critical in dealing with a savvy quarterback like Drew Brees. However, it would help greatly to get pressure from the front four without a blitz since once a quarterback like Brees knows we have to blitz he has a strategic advantage. When he doesn't know if the blitz is comming an then on top of that McDermott dials up a few blitzes no one ever saw before there is a big chance for disruptive plays. Hence, the play of Trent Cole could be key, since he is the only Eagle to consistently be a threat without the blitz. I was however, impressed with VA last week. While I thought he was not totally disruptive he seemed like he was on the cusp.
Also if the interior of their offensive line is weak, Bunk and Patt should be able to get a better push and compromise the ability of Brees to step up in the pocket.
If we do not do these types of things then the best hope for a win is a shootout. Even with McNabb under center a shootout (as I think Tommy noted) would not be the preferred path to victory.
Kolb? Who knows. I'm apprehensive but no more really than I was last week with questions at MLB, safety, and RT. Those questions have been answered to a great extent -- particularly MLB. So this week we have a new reason to trust Reid and company.
Go Eagles!!!
Roadhouse is just a badass movie that's fun to watch when you're not quite ready to fall asleep yet. USA and TNT used to play it ALL THE TIME at night.
The Saints game is important because it's a NFC match-up and we need to win these games in case the division becomes a real three-way fight. BUT, this is only the 2nd game of the season. If Kolb struggles and we lose, we can live with that, especially with K.C. coming in the next week.
Starting Garcia would reek of desperation and frankly; we're not desperate. This is an important game but by no means a win-or-die situation. There's still 14 more after this one. McNabb will be back and at least we find out what Kolb is made of. There shouldn't even be a "Garcia vs. Kolb" discussion at this point.
I'm way more concerned with how our defense plays against the Saints than I am about Kolb.
Man the more I watch the replay of Mcnabb getting kneed in the back the angrier I get. At first it was hard to tell cuz of the replay angles whether it was dirty or not, but with some new angles its obvious that Mcnabb was in the endzone on the ground (prone) before the Panthers player even started his slide into him. How the hell are you going to tell us on one hand that you're trying to protect quarterbacks but on the other not flag or fine that hit? It's such a double standard its infuriating. Brady gets injured on what was a legal hit at the time and theres an immediate rule change. Mcnabb gets injured on a flagrant late hit and there isn't a flag thrown or a fine leveled.
Goodell has slowly but surely become very unlikeable to me. I don't agree with a lot of his "player conduct" policies that he's become infatuated with, I don't agree with his international expansion plans for the league (traveling overseas to play games? are you kidding me?) and I definitely don't agree with the uneven applications of his own rules.
First of all they hit him in the end zone after it was already a TD. Second of all, if memory serves, the angle of pursuit was such that they had no chance to hit him before he crossed the goal line. So even if they couldn't stop the only purpose of their attack was to hit him in the end zone. Thus, they should be fined.
Post a Comment