I haven't gone back over the game. I watched some highlights, but I haven't got the stomach to thoroughly study what happened. Hopefully I'll get to that on Tuesday.
The Eagles made too many mistakes. You can focus on the gameplan, McNabb, or the defense, but everyone had a hand in this. I went over the mistakes in my PE.com article:
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/Story.asp?story_id=17307
We had far too many guys "underachieve" in this game. I think a lot of that is due to the Thanksgiving game. We whipped them completely that night. I have to believe that subconsciously that game gave us a false sense of confidence.
There is also the stat about teams that beat the defending champions losing the next week. I think the record is 0-12 after yesterday. I wondered if beating the big, bad Giants would soften our edge a little. That game felt more like the NFC Championship than yesterday did.
CHANGES
There will be change coming in a couple of months. Don't count on major moves. This team is pretty good right now. They underachieved overall, but still got to the NFC-CG.
The defense should look the same. I expect us to re-sign Dawk. I expect us to re-sign Hanson. We'll adjust some backups, but the D is pretty set. Now, if you get the chance to add Asomugha or Haynesworth...go for it. Those are elite players. You don't pass on them unless you already have elite players. I doubt the Eagles will get either guy, but they should be talked to.
The offense will look different. The skill players are basically back. I don't see us making a change at WR or Westy or McNabb. Celek showed enough that he can be the starter next year. We might try to upgrade, but it isn't a necessity. FB is needed. Backup RB is needed.
While I don't see Westy going anywhere, a good young RB is needed. Our offense needs someone who can overcome bad blocking and add that "oomph" to the offense. I don't care how big he is. Just give me a physical runner. In a fantasy world Maurice Jones-Drew would become trade bait.
The OL will be different. I don't want to get into all the permutations right now. Herremans is a lock to start somewhere. Jamaal Jackson is probably back. Runyan is gone. No chance at him returning. Tra looked old in the postseason. I'm starting to think they'll let him walk as well. We have a bunch of guys fighting for G spots. All I can say about Shawn Andrews is don't believe anything you read. He is all over the place and changes his mind on a regular basis. He could start the next 7 Pro Bowls or never play again. What a shame.
I agree with Lynch's comment on the last post that improving in the Red Zone is huge. This is where a good FB and good blocking TE are important. We need a RB with the ability to push the pile. We also need a physical WR. We can get this guy in the draft to develop as a RZ threat and Curtis' eventual successor at X. We must be able to score TDs more efficiently next year. We lost games because of our inability to score TDs. That fact can't be lost on Andy.
As for the question about "the regime"...Andy Reid isn't going anywhere. He bought at least another year with the way the team played in December and January. If he will commit to a more balanced offense and focus on the RZ, I'm fine with him coming back. Andy has been slow to change. Glacially slow. However, he has adjusted over the years more than people think. I hope seeing the change of '06 and this year will finally get it through his thick skull that we must run more. We'll always be a passing offense, but there is a need to run more and be better at running the ball.
I don't see major changes on the coaching staff. Spags may take a guy or two down to St. Louis. I doubt anyone gets fired, although Segrest certainly could.
I don't know that the regime in place is a problem. The way they do certain things is. We have to hope there are changes in that. Andy focused on pass protection this year more than ever. He built the passing offense around a rookie. That was different. He quit rotating WRs late in the year. He will adjust at times. We need him to make the right adjustments between now and July so that we start the season with some of these problems solved. There are always new problems that creep up.
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Monday, January 19, 2009
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2 comments:
I think we need to look at LDE in a serious manner. Cole, Bunk and Patt are entering their prime together at RDE and the DT's, but at LDE we lack someone who is truly a playmaker. I think if we can get a stud opposite trent cole, our pass rush will benefit tremendously. Too many times this year we really relied on the blitz to get pressure. That was the thing that stood out to me the most this year. We were consistently unable to get pressure without sending 2 or 3 blitzers. Trent Cole is a mean dude, but he isn't so good that he's able to overcome the double teaming and chipping that he saw. We need someone on the other side to take some of the focus away from him.
Tommy,
Would it be too much to say that this season boils down to red zone play, on both sides of the ball? No need for me to add to all the chatter on what would help our red zone offense. It's the other side of the ball that puzzles me most. As dominant as our D was at times, I never saw us consistently hold teams to FGs in the red-zone, which seems the strangest aspect of one of JJ's greatest groups. What changes can we make to improve our red zone D?
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