Monday, January 08, 2007
Grudge Match
It was a grudge match, it was a dog fight, it was everything you’d expect an NFC East football game would be. In the end, the Philadelphia Eagles were tougher, grittier, nastier than their enemy. That is the reason why the Eagles defeated the New York Giants 23-20 yesterday in a game that cause me to shout: “Come on!!!!” about thirty times at the television. A few thoughts:
The MVP of the Eagles win was Brian Westbrook. Twenty carries, 141 yards and a TD. Westbrook didn’t catch many passes (just two catches for twelve yards) and his big punt return for a TD was knocked out by a penalty, but he was electric on the ground and had three key plays in the game:
-His 49-yard TD run in the second half on 2nd-and-1 to give the Eagles their first score of the game.
-Westbrook’s eleven yard run on the first play of the Eagles final possession, which moved the Eagles to mid-field and gave them plenty of time to milk the clock and still be confident of moving the ball into position.
-Finally, Westbrook’s thirteen yard run to the Giants nineteen yard line to set up the game-winner. It was a great run by Westbrook, who turned up the field and hit the afterburners once he saw a gap.
Without those runs, the Eagles would not have emerged victorious.
Garcia and the Eagles offense played a pretty so-so game, although to be fair, much of their poor play was a product of horrible field position in the first quarter, which was not entirely their fault. A well-placed kick by the Giants that Reno Mahe realized he couldn’t take a chance on resulted in horrible field position for the Eagles. The Birds started four of their next drives in their own Red Zone. Hard to get much of anything going when you start on your own 9, 20, 2 and 16 yard lines.
After Westbrook the Eagles stand-out performer was Reggie Brown, who played spectacularly well, catching 7 passes for 73 yards. Brown’s catches were tough ones that extended Eagles drives. Great, great performance for Reggie.
The Eagles had more yards rushing (185) than passing (138 net) for probably the first time all season. Probably years. I loved the fact that the Eagles run-pass ratio was 1:1. As long as Andy leaves the play-calling up to Morty, the Eagles are set.
The Eagles D played well and kept the Giants offense shackled for much of the game in the middle. What saved the game for the Eagles was when the defense stood up during the first quarter and held the Giants to one first down in three possessions when the Giants got the ball at the Eagles 49, their own 48, then the Eagles 46 again. To get the ball on your foe’s side of the field and botch three opportunities to work with a short field is inexcusable.
Generally speaking I wasn’t impressed by the Giants. For all of their terrific field position and momentum at the outset of the game, they played like crap until the end of the fourth quarter. Eli’s pick was a disaster, a pass he was basically trying to force into double-coverage. Tiki Barber and Plaxico Burress burned the Eagles for big plays, especially at the start and end, but in the middle the Giants looked like their usual selves, tepidly trying to figure out if they should run or pass, not sure. Add in the bone-headed penalties, and this Giants team was a mess. I personally hope that Tom Coughlin comes back next season as the Giants coach because this guy made a mess of a talented team.
On to the rest of the playoffs...
-The Patriots played pretty commanding football against the Jets. In fact they played like the Patriots of old, grinding out a close lead and then capitalizing on late mistakes to blow the game wide-open. I thought that the Chargers would easily beat the Pats, but now I am not so sure.
Meanwhile, the Colts didn’t play as badly as the Chiefs and hold on for a 23-8 win over KC in a pretty uninspired game that – frankly – did not hold my attention on Saturday.
The Cowboys laughable botched field goal in Seattle did and left my jumping for joy. Anyone notice that the 21-20 final was the same score as the 1996 Monday Night Football game were the Eagles to the Cowboys lost on a botched hold on a field goal? Weird.
-Predictions. Well, the Ravens and Colts looks like an easy call. Unless Peyton Manning and the Colts can reverse years of lousy playoff performances, I suspect that Manning will struggle against the Ravens nasty, aggressive defense. The Ravens will score a defensive touchdown or two. Call it Ravens 27, Colts 10.
The Patriots and Chargers will be an interesting game. Can Bill Belichick devise a way to keep DaLanian Tomlinson in check? If anyone can, he can. I am going to go with the Chargers on the basis that they are a young team, an aggressive team defensively, and they are playing at home. But I think it is going to be a razor-thin game: Chargers 28, Patriots 27.
The Bears and the Seahawks. Sure Rex Grossman has played bad football in the second half, but Seattle isn’t much better. They look like a shell of the team that won the NFC title last year. Well, someone has to win it. It might as well be a … 13-10 Bears victory. Yawn.
Eagles and Saints? Well, it will be a tight game to be sure. I think the Eagles will be enough motivation to want to avenge the regular season’s 27-24 loss and pull out a 31-27 win at the end next Saturday night. On to the fifth NFC title game in six years for the Birds.
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The MVP of the Eagles win was Brian Westbrook. Twenty carries, 141 yards and a TD. Westbrook didn’t catch many passes (just two catches for twelve yards) and his big punt return for a TD was knocked out by a penalty, but he was electric on the ground and had three key plays in the game:
-His 49-yard TD run in the second half on 2nd-and-1 to give the Eagles their first score of the game.
-Westbrook’s eleven yard run on the first play of the Eagles final possession, which moved the Eagles to mid-field and gave them plenty of time to milk the clock and still be confident of moving the ball into position.
-Finally, Westbrook’s thirteen yard run to the Giants nineteen yard line to set up the game-winner. It was a great run by Westbrook, who turned up the field and hit the afterburners once he saw a gap.
Without those runs, the Eagles would not have emerged victorious.
Garcia and the Eagles offense played a pretty so-so game, although to be fair, much of their poor play was a product of horrible field position in the first quarter, which was not entirely their fault. A well-placed kick by the Giants that Reno Mahe realized he couldn’t take a chance on resulted in horrible field position for the Eagles. The Birds started four of their next drives in their own Red Zone. Hard to get much of anything going when you start on your own 9, 20, 2 and 16 yard lines.
After Westbrook the Eagles stand-out performer was Reggie Brown, who played spectacularly well, catching 7 passes for 73 yards. Brown’s catches were tough ones that extended Eagles drives. Great, great performance for Reggie.
The Eagles had more yards rushing (185) than passing (138 net) for probably the first time all season. Probably years. I loved the fact that the Eagles run-pass ratio was 1:1. As long as Andy leaves the play-calling up to Morty, the Eagles are set.
The Eagles D played well and kept the Giants offense shackled for much of the game in the middle. What saved the game for the Eagles was when the defense stood up during the first quarter and held the Giants to one first down in three possessions when the Giants got the ball at the Eagles 49, their own 48, then the Eagles 46 again. To get the ball on your foe’s side of the field and botch three opportunities to work with a short field is inexcusable.
Generally speaking I wasn’t impressed by the Giants. For all of their terrific field position and momentum at the outset of the game, they played like crap until the end of the fourth quarter. Eli’s pick was a disaster, a pass he was basically trying to force into double-coverage. Tiki Barber and Plaxico Burress burned the Eagles for big plays, especially at the start and end, but in the middle the Giants looked like their usual selves, tepidly trying to figure out if they should run or pass, not sure. Add in the bone-headed penalties, and this Giants team was a mess. I personally hope that Tom Coughlin comes back next season as the Giants coach because this guy made a mess of a talented team.
On to the rest of the playoffs...
-The Patriots played pretty commanding football against the Jets. In fact they played like the Patriots of old, grinding out a close lead and then capitalizing on late mistakes to blow the game wide-open. I thought that the Chargers would easily beat the Pats, but now I am not so sure.
Meanwhile, the Colts didn’t play as badly as the Chiefs and hold on for a 23-8 win over KC in a pretty uninspired game that – frankly – did not hold my attention on Saturday.
The Cowboys laughable botched field goal in Seattle did and left my jumping for joy. Anyone notice that the 21-20 final was the same score as the 1996 Monday Night Football game were the Eagles to the Cowboys lost on a botched hold on a field goal? Weird.
-Predictions. Well, the Ravens and Colts looks like an easy call. Unless Peyton Manning and the Colts can reverse years of lousy playoff performances, I suspect that Manning will struggle against the Ravens nasty, aggressive defense. The Ravens will score a defensive touchdown or two. Call it Ravens 27, Colts 10.
The Patriots and Chargers will be an interesting game. Can Bill Belichick devise a way to keep DaLanian Tomlinson in check? If anyone can, he can. I am going to go with the Chargers on the basis that they are a young team, an aggressive team defensively, and they are playing at home. But I think it is going to be a razor-thin game: Chargers 28, Patriots 27.
The Bears and the Seahawks. Sure Rex Grossman has played bad football in the second half, but Seattle isn’t much better. They look like a shell of the team that won the NFC title last year. Well, someone has to win it. It might as well be a … 13-10 Bears victory. Yawn.
Eagles and Saints? Well, it will be a tight game to be sure. I think the Eagles will be enough motivation to want to avenge the regular season’s 27-24 loss and pull out a 31-27 win at the end next Saturday night. On to the fifth NFC title game in six years for the Birds.
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