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Here is the DGR:
--LINK--
The more I think about it, the more impressed I am with LeSean McCoy. Really good game from him. We need that down the stretch.
Also, Trotter played pretty well. I was shocked.
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
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11 comments:
Well, heres the deal. I know we are not supposed to be upset with the Eagles for their ugly win against Chicago. Yes, Cutler had his chances and the Eagles won because he overthrew his passes. But somehow we are supposed to be satisfied with a gutty win, McNabb came back to get the 4Q score, we ran the ball well and controlled the clock at the end and the defense came up big. To be sure, there are a lot of positives to look at.
But the bottom line for me is that in the last three games the Eagles have played this brand of mistake ridden football that generates these ugly close games. We had chances to win or lose all of them but we lost two of three. We lost to the two teams now leading their divisions and we beat a team with big problems. So you want to play like we did on Sunday - then you are going to lose two out of three and beat only the mediocre.
I believe that the Eagles are potentially better than either Dallas and San Diego and should have won both of those games going away. But they must reach there potential which is several levels above the latest string of three slopfests.
Fair enough, izzy, but also remember how young we are and how many of the mistakes against DAL/SD were made by rookies. The only way for those guys to learn is through experience. They made plays Sunday that they didn't the previous two weeks. We'll see if that was a fluke or a key moment in their development.
I loved the DeSean punt return where you say he "flew". I know it's a cliche to say that someone plays "with another gear" but that's just what he did on that play. The shift seemed like the effect on Star Trek where Kirk orders warp speed. I love watching that guy.
That seems like an over-generalization. Those same young players who are making mistakes are also making some big plays for us. There are plenty of mistakes being made by veterans as well. Trent Cole seems to jump offsides at the worst possible moments. Chris Gocong still can't cover a TE. Sheldon and / or Asante get burnt by a slant & go on a weekly basis. Luckily, opposing QBs aren't making us pay. Sav Rocca, at this point, should be able to connect with a football properly more than 60% of the time. And we all know about #5's accuracy issues.
The point that Izzy is trying to make (I think) is that we're playing sloppy football in general. Mistakes are being made by rookies, veterans, and coaches. These mistakes are happening nearly every week and they cost us two games in the last three weeks.
They cost us against the Raiders. People are chalking that up to a bad week, but to me it is still inexcusable. If we end up playing on the road during the wildcard round of the playoffs instead of at home, then people are going to realize how significant that loss was.
We're in Week 12. These mental errors should have been eliminated weeks ago. The fact that they weren't doesn't leave much hope that they will be. And that means there is little hope that we'll be major players in the post-season.
We've seen Andy get things righted in December and early January, so I guess we'll see what happens. But it is certainly frustrating to endure when everyone had high hopes for this season.
One thing I was truly pleased with was the emphasis on getting the ball in DeSean and Jeremy's hands and giving them the opportunity to generate RAC yards. The quick slants and screens were a more prominent this game and something I wish we had done more of in the Dallas game with those corners playing so close.
Two questions:
What has happened to Laws? He doesn't seem to be particularly effective against the run yet produces little in the way of a pass rush. Is his reduced playing time a result of Victor being at DT or simply not contributing when given the chance.
Lastly, I enjoy seeing Maclin out there making some difficult catches yet have not seen any of the WOW from his Big 12 days. Is this the result of holdout/no camp/ pro v college speed? Whither the WOW?
Oh and Jackson may be fast but there is nary an animal alive that can outrun a greased Scotsman.
We're getting some good contributions from people we never would have expected. If I told you this past summer that Winston Justice would be our starting RT and Jeremiah Trotter was our starting MLB week 11 you'd have thought our season was in the toilet at that point.
I mean how much more unlikely does it get than having those 2 being key contributors this year?
Dollar Brand: I think Maclin will never be more than just an average NFL WR. Star college players often times do not shine as Pros - the game is alot different at the higher levels.
Anyway, I've come to a conclusion based on the season so far. While we've had some nice blowout wins, none of them were against quality opponents:
- the Carolina victory was simply Jake Delhomme imploding and our defense taking advantage of numerous turnovers and a sizeable lead by applying constant pressure
- Kansas City is an abysmal team
- Tampa Bay is an abysmal team
- The Redskins are an abysmal team
- The Giants were playing terribly that week. Eli was simply awful, and their secondary was riddled with garbage players like C.C. Brown that could be exploited all day by any kind of remotely competent offense.
What is the common thread here? We've only managed to definitively beat teams that either are truly putrid, or playing in a very putrid fashion.
The other games featured a domination at the hands of a good team (New Orleans), an inexplicable loss to a putrid team (Oakland), a heartbreaking loss to a mediocre team (Dallas), another domination at the hands of a good team (San Diego), and a needlessly close game against a pretty bad team (Chicago) that could easily have been chalked up as a loss.
All of these games point to the fact that the 2009 Eagles simply cannot play on the level required to compete with the elite teams of the NFC, much less the league. We'll have 50/50 games with the other mediocre teams, possibly blow out the bad teams (and even then, there are games like Oakland), and definitively lose to the elite teams.
I think there is a chance we can make the playoffs this year, but I simply do not see us beating Minnesota, New Orleans, or even Arizona under any circumstances. And there is still a very good chance we won't even make the playoffs, because some of the remaining games against the likes of Atlanta, New York, and Dallas are very loseable.
As I see it - this is a team with considerable talent and potential, but it will take at least a year or two more to maximize it. Maybe next year will be a year for the Eagles to be a contender once more - but not this year.
@ Dollar Brand...
"there is nary an animal alive that can outrun a greased Scotsman"
I am in awe of the greatness of that.
Ha! I'm loving the quote, too. It has the same feel, if you will, of these great Jameson commercials that have started airing the last couple months.
I'm still working my way through the DGR, but one thing I noticed during the game was that the Bears seemed to really key in on our screens. Is this a case where the Bears' D was just coached up during the week to eye the screen or was something going wrong (or were we tipping them off) on our end that caused the Bears to be a step ahead?
Maclin through 10 games: 37-477-12.9-4
DeSean's first 10 games: 42-586-13.9-1 (+1 rushing)
Thoughts?
Interesting, Cliff. Let me think about that.
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