Monday, November 27, 2006
Couldn't Flex Out of This One...
The NFL’s must-hyped, much-discussed “flex schedule” couldn’t save NBC from showing last night’s 45-21 annihilation of the Eagles at the hands of the 10-1 Indy Colts. Largely born out of last season’s 42-0 embarrassment at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks, ABC dropped Monday Night Football because it was difficult – it not impossible – to rally weary people to the TV set to sit through a horrifying football game when they could be watching Donald Trump display his massive ego for all of the world to see on NBC (“…And I like to think that we sell the classiest, best donuts in all of the world …”) The Donald, so oblivious to his own absurd ridiculousness, is much more fun and entertaining. The flex schedule was part of the NFL's efforts to make prime-time football more appealing to the networks and to make NBC hype the heck out of Sunday Night games when most fans are tired and want to go to sleep, or are having difficulty persuading their spouses to watch a 9th hour of football instead of "Desperate Housewives".
Sadly, when NBC decided to push this game to Sunday night they made a tragic error when hours later McNabb went down. Gone was the dream matchup of Peyton Manning and Donovan McNabb, the NFL’s two best QBs, replaced by the sight of Jeff Garcia desperately running for his life. Gone was the battle between the reeling Colts and the desperate Eagles. And gone were the viewers. I could barely be motivated to watch and found myself wondering what was happening on "Housewives". It had to be better than this.
In losing their fifth game in their last six, the Eagles have revived horrifying memories of 2005. Meanwhile, their arch-nemesis, T.O., marches towards the playoffs behind a tough defense and a QB who isn’t an immobile target in the pocket. After the Eagles 38-24 victory over the Cowboys earlier in the season little has gone right for the Eagles and little has gone wrong for the Cowboys. Have to feel that T.O. is more than a little happy right now, yeh?
Last night the Colts pounded the Eagles into submission with an astonishing 237 yards rushing on 41 carries. Peyton Manning got to take the night off, throwing just 20 times and completing 14 for another 183 yards. The Colts accumulated 15 first downs on the ground in the game, which saw the heretofore unimpressive Joseph Addai score four TDs. For probably the first time ever with Peyton Manning under center the Colts gained more yardage on the ground than in the air.
Jeff Garcia looked utterly hopeless and I hope that the Garcia Experience lasts no longer. Put in A.J. and take a shot. This team needs someone to stretch the field and restore some memories of the ’02 miracle, when the Eagles looked finished and ended up storming to the best record in the conference.
If there was a plus side to last night’s humiliation, it was that Brian Westbrook had some nice stats, carrying the ball 20 times for 124 yards and catching another seven passes for 46 yards. Westbrook accumulated 170 of the Eagles 300 yards (57%). The rest of the Eagles offense might as well been invisible: Donte Stallworth and Reggie Brown caught two passes for nine yards each. The Eagles wideouts had eight catches for 64 yards and a TD … Terrible. Simply terrible. The Colts defense was able to shorten the field and limit what the Eagles could do to small plays. The Eagles longest play from scrimmage was a 21-yard run by Westbrook. Their longest pass was a 19-yarder to Buckhalter. From an offense that was leading the league in 20+ or 30+ yard plays, this is a major calamity and goes to show you how utterly reliant the Eagles were on McNabb to get much of anything going.
Ironically, despite the Eagles loss, their playoff chances remain open in the NFC. Assuming that Seattle wins tonight against Green Bay, the Eagles only sit a game out of the playoff picture at 5-6, just behind the Giants and Panthers for the two wildcard slots. Despite the Eagles foibles, their NFC mates are very to get them into the playoffs:
-The Atlanta Falcons have collapsed, losing four in the row and it looks like More will be fired for the nightmare that Michael Vick has become. Since defeating the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers in consecutive weeks, two games that saw Vick throw 7 TDs and just 2 Ints, and average 9.18 yards per pass, Vick has thrown 3 TD passes and had six turnovers (four picks, two fumbles), hit just 45% of his passes and average 4.88 yards a pass.
-The Giants have lost three in a row and Tom Coughlin ought to be fired for yesterday’s 24-21 loss to the Titans. For a team to lose concentration like that … it has to be the coach’s fault.
-The Panthers are bizarrely inconsistent. How did they lose yesterday to the Redskins and their rookie QB?
-After looking like a juggernaut, the Bears suddenly look very beatable when Rex Grossman under center.
Right now the NFC looks like a three-way battle between the Seahawks (if they are healthy), the Cowboys and the Saints for supremacy. The Bears will win the division, but the wildcard race looks wide-open. None of these teams seem to want to win it and make the playoffs. Maybe the Eagles will return to January football after all?
The AFC side looks very strong: the Chargers are peaking, the Patriots are playing good ball, the Ravens humiliated the Steelers on Sunday, and the Colts will win the South in a walk. The question is whether the Bengals, Jets and Jaguars can catch the Chiefs and Broncos, two very beatable teams, for the wildcard slots. I say yes, and I predict that the Bengals and Jaguars will be the AFC’s other teams in the playoffs. We’ll see how things shape up next week. Oh yeah, and the Eagles play the Panthers on MNF next week. Suddenly the game doesn’t seem so hopeless.
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Sadly, when NBC decided to push this game to Sunday night they made a tragic error when hours later McNabb went down. Gone was the dream matchup of Peyton Manning and Donovan McNabb, the NFL’s two best QBs, replaced by the sight of Jeff Garcia desperately running for his life. Gone was the battle between the reeling Colts and the desperate Eagles. And gone were the viewers. I could barely be motivated to watch and found myself wondering what was happening on "Housewives". It had to be better than this.
In losing their fifth game in their last six, the Eagles have revived horrifying memories of 2005. Meanwhile, their arch-nemesis, T.O., marches towards the playoffs behind a tough defense and a QB who isn’t an immobile target in the pocket. After the Eagles 38-24 victory over the Cowboys earlier in the season little has gone right for the Eagles and little has gone wrong for the Cowboys. Have to feel that T.O. is more than a little happy right now, yeh?
Last night the Colts pounded the Eagles into submission with an astonishing 237 yards rushing on 41 carries. Peyton Manning got to take the night off, throwing just 20 times and completing 14 for another 183 yards. The Colts accumulated 15 first downs on the ground in the game, which saw the heretofore unimpressive Joseph Addai score four TDs. For probably the first time ever with Peyton Manning under center the Colts gained more yardage on the ground than in the air.
Jeff Garcia looked utterly hopeless and I hope that the Garcia Experience lasts no longer. Put in A.J. and take a shot. This team needs someone to stretch the field and restore some memories of the ’02 miracle, when the Eagles looked finished and ended up storming to the best record in the conference.
If there was a plus side to last night’s humiliation, it was that Brian Westbrook had some nice stats, carrying the ball 20 times for 124 yards and catching another seven passes for 46 yards. Westbrook accumulated 170 of the Eagles 300 yards (57%). The rest of the Eagles offense might as well been invisible: Donte Stallworth and Reggie Brown caught two passes for nine yards each. The Eagles wideouts had eight catches for 64 yards and a TD … Terrible. Simply terrible. The Colts defense was able to shorten the field and limit what the Eagles could do to small plays. The Eagles longest play from scrimmage was a 21-yard run by Westbrook. Their longest pass was a 19-yarder to Buckhalter. From an offense that was leading the league in 20+ or 30+ yard plays, this is a major calamity and goes to show you how utterly reliant the Eagles were on McNabb to get much of anything going.
Ironically, despite the Eagles loss, their playoff chances remain open in the NFC. Assuming that Seattle wins tonight against Green Bay, the Eagles only sit a game out of the playoff picture at 5-6, just behind the Giants and Panthers for the two wildcard slots. Despite the Eagles foibles, their NFC mates are very to get them into the playoffs:
-The Atlanta Falcons have collapsed, losing four in the row and it looks like More will be fired for the nightmare that Michael Vick has become. Since defeating the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers in consecutive weeks, two games that saw Vick throw 7 TDs and just 2 Ints, and average 9.18 yards per pass, Vick has thrown 3 TD passes and had six turnovers (four picks, two fumbles), hit just 45% of his passes and average 4.88 yards a pass.
-The Giants have lost three in a row and Tom Coughlin ought to be fired for yesterday’s 24-21 loss to the Titans. For a team to lose concentration like that … it has to be the coach’s fault.
-The Panthers are bizarrely inconsistent. How did they lose yesterday to the Redskins and their rookie QB?
-After looking like a juggernaut, the Bears suddenly look very beatable when Rex Grossman under center.
Right now the NFC looks like a three-way battle between the Seahawks (if they are healthy), the Cowboys and the Saints for supremacy. The Bears will win the division, but the wildcard race looks wide-open. None of these teams seem to want to win it and make the playoffs. Maybe the Eagles will return to January football after all?
The AFC side looks very strong: the Chargers are peaking, the Patriots are playing good ball, the Ravens humiliated the Steelers on Sunday, and the Colts will win the South in a walk. The question is whether the Bengals, Jets and Jaguars can catch the Chiefs and Broncos, two very beatable teams, for the wildcard slots. I say yes, and I predict that the Bengals and Jaguars will be the AFC’s other teams in the playoffs. We’ll see how things shape up next week. Oh yeah, and the Eagles play the Panthers on MNF next week. Suddenly the game doesn’t seem so hopeless.
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