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Here it is:
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SOME PREVIOUS QUESTIONS
RE: Tackling?
Someone asked about why guys will hit, but not tackle. Huge difference. Hitting is when a guy takes his shoulder and goes and strikes a target. The human shoulder can take a lot of contact and doesn't generate much pain.
Form tackling is when you put your face through a target. To normal people, this isn't pleasant. Defensive guys who like to tackle enjoy inflicting pain, but don't mind some of their own.
To think of the difference walk up to a bare wall. Squat down into a good defensive position. Now imagine hitting it with your shoulder. You can angle your body so that is the only real point of contact. That's not so bad. A form tackle involves you opening your arms wide and striking it with your face and then the rest of your body, as you complete the tackle. That doesn't sound like quite as much fun. Guys like Asante, Deion, and Bobby Taylor would gladly hit someone, but they want no part of form tackles.
RE: Kolb / McNabb
Donovan played a bad game vs OAK. This week was better, but still not the talented veteran QB we're used to seeing. That's 2-straight subpar games. It better stop at that. We need him to play well if we're going to beat NYG and DAL.
I don't know that Donovan is playing his way out of his job this year. I think he'd have to really struggle or the team lose games for there to be a change. I do think Donovan is playing his way out of next year. There is no conspiracy or agenda. We simply need good QB play.
Donovan will get hot at some point. Sunday would work for me. If he plays at a high level for a while he keeps his job next year. If not, we shop him around and start the Kevin Kolb era.
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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9 comments:
Thanks for the recap...I don't get to see the games (only listen on field pass), so I miss a lot. Big kudos this year to the Eags for some nice FA/trade pickups. Aside from the obvious with Witherspoon, Dixon, Babin,and Buckley all seem to be panning out well. They may not all be studs, but they have played their role well when they play and solidified the back end of our roster. 7 weeks into the season, who are your surprise players on this roster?
PS - aside from the fact that Witherspoon has been on the roster a whole week, is there any reason to expect that in a few weeks, he will be an every down back in the middle? I have visions of Levon Kirkland every time Trott is in there that the O will see a serious coverage mismatch. How is Witherspoon not the better option in every scenario given that we have stout DT's to keep him relatively clean?
Very disappointing win for me. When ESPN flashed the 1st down graphic midway through the 3rd period: Eagles - 6, Redskins - 11, I was disgusted. The end-around and pump-fake bomb to DeSean were great, but like a super sweet dessert: once the sugar high wears off, what do have that nourishes and sustains you? Sure, I'll take the points and the W but I wanna see a team that's building toward the playoffs and that means developing all aspects of your game, including the running game. I was certainly hoping for a better effort from the coaching staff after last week's debacle and while facing a team that only managed 2 wins against 6 winless opponents. This was a gut-check game, a character game, and the offense, with the 2 big play exceptions, did not show up. Bad sign.
This game had a few funny moments, Sean Jones missing that sack of Campbell, Joselio Hanson getting trucked by Mike Jones (he turned his had at the last moment and reacted like he was about to get hit by a car) and Brent Celek getting manhandled by Haynesworth out on the edge. Those moments made the game somewhat more tolerable for me.
I'm just tired of watching Donovan put in the clunkers. I have Drew Brees/Peyton Manning envy. Drew Brees even had a bad half of football this weekend, but instead of continuing to play like crap he came out in the second half and got his ish together and led the Saints to a major comeback win.
When was the last time Peyton Manning played anything but spectacular?
Even Tom Brady is starting to get it back together after his knee surgery (I'm still not convinced its all smooth sailing yet for him because he put up some gaudy stats on 3 backup cornerbacks in tenessee and hell we made the Tampa pass D look like swiss cheese and he still threw 2 picks to them).
The point is at what point in Donovans career is he going to go back to being elite? We're not paying him to be a top 15 quarterback, we're paying him to be a top 5 quarterback. The clunkers and inconsistency have to stop. We have the most talented pass catchers we've ever had, and Donovan is enough of a veteran that he should be able to make plays even with sometimes spotty OL play. Hell Aaron Rodgers was under siege like no quarterback I've ever seen in the first GB/Minny game and he STILL made more plays than Donovan has been the last couple weeks. Aaron Rodgers has only been starting for two years!
I like Donovan and I've always wanted him to succeed and finally put to rest the question of whether he can win a championship, but frankly he's letting me down right now. The last 2 years have featured some seriously spotty play, sometimes downright in the toilet type stuff and I've run out of excuses for him. Someone with his experience and pedigree should not be struggling this much. He looks more like the second year man trying to figure it all out and less like the perennial pro bowler we know he is capable of being.
Possible future "Onion" headline: "Donovan McNabb completes 2010 season without a single interception; spikes every pass"
Brees and McNabb are good comparisons, I think. Brees certainly has gained a lot more praise in his career as a Saint than he has in the past. Likewise, McNabb was once considered a top 2 or 3 quarter back (boohoo... he's probably just top 5 now).
You can make the case either way. Brees' career rating is 90. McNabb's career passer rating is 86. McNabb has 200 TD's and only 91 INT's. Brees only has 182 TD's and a whopping 104 INT's.
Anyway, McNabb gives us these clunkers. True. But he rarely plays down against our rivals. I'm much more confident with Donovan at QB against NYG and Dallas than I am Kolb.
RE: Surprise players?
DT Antonio Dixon - This guy was a curiosity when we claimed him off waivers. Now he's our #3 DT and getting regular PT.
RT Winston Justice - I'm surprised he made the team, let alone that he's became a starter and is playing well.
WR Jeremy Maclin - I didn't think he'd contribute much as a rookie. He's taken over for Kevin Curtis and playing good football.
RE: Spoon
He played 80-90% of the snaps on Monday. Trot will quickly be reduced to goal line and short yardage stuff, if anything.
RE: Donovan
One thing I completely forgot about is that he has the rib injury. That's not an excuse for his struggles, but it sure can't help matters.
Player evaluation is constantly changing. McNabb isn't close to being a Top 5 QB right now. That could change in 6 weeks.
There isn't a magic formula. The best players are the ones who play the best. Simple as that. Right now Cedric Benson is a better RB than LT.
Past accomplishment comes into the situation a bit, but doesn't override what you're seeing. Kevin Kolb has played better than Donovan this year, but Kevin has never won a playoff game. He's never led us on a comeback. He's never faced a hostile road crowd in a game with a big time defense and a lot on the line. There is a first time for everything, but you're always nervous with a player when there are unknown factors.
McNabb is in a slump now, but because he has such a strong track record we have to give him some time to bounce back. If it gets to 4 or 5 straight bad games then we have to discuss the possibility that he's no longer a good player. Hopefully that won't happen and we won't be having that discussion.
Great recap. Very interesting about Bunk lining up off of the line. I really hope this is a breakout year for him. Those concerns of underachieving he had during the draft aren't issues at all now. Hopefully Dixon will continue to improve. At least Kimo can stay retired.
It's funny hearing Giants fans whine about their FO not going after Witherspoon to bolster their LB's. As a fan, I guess other teams are always doing things better than your team.
I will never want Donovan, who decides to come out of the woodwork with good play for a few spurts in a season, over a player who consistently plays up to their potential every week. The problem I have is every time he starts looking like a hall of famer again, instead of thinking ahh theres the Donovan I know, I think hmm, I wonder how long till he starts wormburning wide open recievers again. Its only a matter of time.
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