Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Best Sunday Ever!
Sorry for the belated post on the Eagles 38-24 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. I actually was in the Philadelphia area this past weekend and didn’t return to my home outside Pittsburgh until late yesterday night.
I honestly don’t think that the Eagles game could have gone any better. There were no reports of ugliness in the stands towards T.O., the Eagles won and won a division game (better still), McNabb had a terrific day and T.O. was basically shut out and spent part of the time on the sidelines screaming at his coaches. Bill Parcells won’t tolerate that for much longer.
-Generally, I am going to echo the sentiment of every other pundit: the Eagles-Cowboys game was a massive victory for the Eagles defense. They provided the Giants and Redskins with a compelling blueprint for containing T.O.: put a body on him at all times and put pressure on Drew Bledsoe, that enormous statute that sits in the Cowboys pocket. Bledsoe has a cannon for an arm, but he’s an old-style pocket passer in a mobile QB age.
Even without Jevon Kearse the Eagles D played great, consistently getting pressure up the middle to Bledsoe, forcing him to throw the ball away or take a sack. I was really impressed by the job that Brian Dawkins, Sheldon Brown and Lito Shepard did all game long in coverage with T.O. and Terry Glenn and Jason Witten. This is a Dallas team with lots of weapons on offense and the Eagles did a great job putting pressure on Bledsoe and keeping those guys contained for nearly the entire game. The secondary turned in a terrific performance. Now if the linebackers could finally stop the running game…
-McNabb is on track to throw for a Peyton Manning-like 5,126 yards this season. Thus far this season he’s thrown for 314, 350, 296, 288 and 354 yards. McNabb has also thrown eleven TD’s and just one INT. Yes, he’s been picked once in 176 attempts. He’s also averaging 9.1 yards per pass attempt. He’s been fantastic this season. Honestly, this might be his finest season yet, better than his T.O.-inflated 2004 campaign, better than his do-it-himself 2000 campaign where Marshall Faulk robbed him of the MVP. He has to be the MVP front-runner for 2006. He’s carried the Eagles with their weak rushing attack on his arm without a super-star wide-out back there. As long as #5 is out there, the Eagles can win.
-Well, the Eagles still can’t get much of a running game going. I wonder if the Steelers would consider parting with Duce Staley. He knows our system, he’s popular and he’s still a good runner. Plus the Steelers are content to go with Najea Davenport and Willie Parker. The Eagles need some sort of #2 back to take the pressure off Westbrook and open some lanes.
-Something else that impressed me from Sunday: the Eagles threw for 354 yards without Donte Stallworth, arguably their best wideout. Hopefully he’ll play Sunday. I figure he and Darren Howard would be up to it.
-Sunday: Saints. In the past I’d figure you could put a gigantic ‘W’ next to this game, but the ‘Aints are playing well. What worries me is not their momentum, but why they are winning: the play of their running back duo of Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister. Seems to me that this is the type of attack that the Eagles are ill-equipped to stop, with their problems stopping the running game. I still think the Eagles will win, but it is vital they get a ‘W’ this week and next so they are 6-1 going into the Jacksonville game, which will be tough and physical. After that, they get the meat of their schedule: Carolina, Giants and Cowboys on the road, the Redskins twice, Indy, and Vick and the Falcons. Win now, survive later.
Check out my Phillies blog, A Citizens Blog, to read Part I of my series on the 1950 Phillies.
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I honestly don’t think that the Eagles game could have gone any better. There were no reports of ugliness in the stands towards T.O., the Eagles won and won a division game (better still), McNabb had a terrific day and T.O. was basically shut out and spent part of the time on the sidelines screaming at his coaches. Bill Parcells won’t tolerate that for much longer.
-Generally, I am going to echo the sentiment of every other pundit: the Eagles-Cowboys game was a massive victory for the Eagles defense. They provided the Giants and Redskins with a compelling blueprint for containing T.O.: put a body on him at all times and put pressure on Drew Bledsoe, that enormous statute that sits in the Cowboys pocket. Bledsoe has a cannon for an arm, but he’s an old-style pocket passer in a mobile QB age.
Even without Jevon Kearse the Eagles D played great, consistently getting pressure up the middle to Bledsoe, forcing him to throw the ball away or take a sack. I was really impressed by the job that Brian Dawkins, Sheldon Brown and Lito Shepard did all game long in coverage with T.O. and Terry Glenn and Jason Witten. This is a Dallas team with lots of weapons on offense and the Eagles did a great job putting pressure on Bledsoe and keeping those guys contained for nearly the entire game. The secondary turned in a terrific performance. Now if the linebackers could finally stop the running game…
-McNabb is on track to throw for a Peyton Manning-like 5,126 yards this season. Thus far this season he’s thrown for 314, 350, 296, 288 and 354 yards. McNabb has also thrown eleven TD’s and just one INT. Yes, he’s been picked once in 176 attempts. He’s also averaging 9.1 yards per pass attempt. He’s been fantastic this season. Honestly, this might be his finest season yet, better than his T.O.-inflated 2004 campaign, better than his do-it-himself 2000 campaign where Marshall Faulk robbed him of the MVP. He has to be the MVP front-runner for 2006. He’s carried the Eagles with their weak rushing attack on his arm without a super-star wide-out back there. As long as #5 is out there, the Eagles can win.
-Well, the Eagles still can’t get much of a running game going. I wonder if the Steelers would consider parting with Duce Staley. He knows our system, he’s popular and he’s still a good runner. Plus the Steelers are content to go with Najea Davenport and Willie Parker. The Eagles need some sort of #2 back to take the pressure off Westbrook and open some lanes.
-Something else that impressed me from Sunday: the Eagles threw for 354 yards without Donte Stallworth, arguably their best wideout. Hopefully he’ll play Sunday. I figure he and Darren Howard would be up to it.
-Sunday: Saints. In the past I’d figure you could put a gigantic ‘W’ next to this game, but the ‘Aints are playing well. What worries me is not their momentum, but why they are winning: the play of their running back duo of Reggie Bush and Deuce McAllister. Seems to me that this is the type of attack that the Eagles are ill-equipped to stop, with their problems stopping the running game. I still think the Eagles will win, but it is vital they get a ‘W’ this week and next so they are 6-1 going into the Jacksonville game, which will be tough and physical. After that, they get the meat of their schedule: Carolina, Giants and Cowboys on the road, the Redskins twice, Indy, and Vick and the Falcons. Win now, survive later.
Check out my Phillies blog, A Citizens Blog, to read Part I of my series on the 1950 Phillies.
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