What happened?
The Cowboys won their first playoff game since 1996 with a dominating performance over the Philadelphia Eagles, ending their season.
The Good:
Do you really expect me to say anything was good in that game yesterday? Keep on looking down.
The Bad:
Just like last week, it wasn't even bad. Just keep on going, it's almost here.
The Ugly:
The Eagles ended up running the ball more this week...three times more, to be exact. Yeah, that didn't work.
DeSean Jackson, for all of his talking, was a complete nonfactor, catching three passes for 14 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter when the game was already over.
The Eagles committed four turnovers, and never got into a groove on offense the entire game.
Donovan McNabb looked even worse than last week, completing 19/37 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown, along with an interception.
Brian Westbrook didn't carry the ball once, and only caught one pass for 27 yards.
The defense allowed Dallas to score on five straight possessions in the second quarter.
The time of possession battle was just about 2-1 in favor of Dallas, just like last week.
Basically, nothing changed, except the Eagles managed to score this time around.
The Breakdown:
So, the 2009-10 Philadelphia Eagles' season comes to an end. It didn't end with a parade down Broad Street, like all of us wanted. Instead, it ended with a humiliating loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Dallas, as the Cowboys defeated the Eagles for the second time in a week. Just as they had in the last game of the regular season, the Cowboys dictated the pace of the game and were able to easily take care of the Eagles for their first playoff win since I was in sixth grade.
The best way to break down this three hour car accident that resembled a football game is to look at my keys to the game from yesterday. The first one was to get pressure on Tony Romo, so the secondary wouldn't have to do everything. Well, the defense had the right idea at first, sacking Romo twice in the first quarter as they kept the Cowboys from scoring. After that, however, they weren't able to bring Romo to the ground for the rest of the game. Romo responded by picking apart the shaky secondary for the Eagles, passing for two touchdowns and 244 yards on the day. Something in that secondary has to change, but I'll get to that in a minute. The important thing here is that, after the first 15 minutes, I got closer to Tony Romo than the defensive line did. There was no pressure, and the Eagles were out muscled by Dallas' offensive line.
Point number two was that the Eagles needed to keep Donovan McNabb upright and protected, so that he didn't have to rush his throws or force them to his receivers. Yeah, that didn't go so well, did it? Just like the last game, McNabb was sacked four times and again was never allowed to get into a good situation in the backfield. DeMarcus Ware destroyed Jason Peters throughout the entire game, and Anthony Spencer, the player the Eagles traded their first round pick for so the Cowboys could take him, picked up another sack. Boy, Spencer would look good in Eagles' green right now, wouldn't he? Just as before, McNabb struggled to find his targets, and when he did, they were usually covered tightly by Dallas defenders. DeSean Jackson only had three catches for 14 yards, and while Jeremy Maclin had seven catches for 146 yards, half of those yards came on one play...and Michael Vick was the one throwing the pass. The bottom line is McNabb did not look good last night, and while part of that was his own doing, the offensive line had to do a better job protecting him. No quarterback can be productive if he's getting pressured the entire game.
I'll move on to point number three now, which was the establishment of a running game by the Eagles. Last week, the running backs only had seven carries in the entire game. This week, things seemed to be looking better in the first quarter, but then things quickly went downhill again. Brian Westbrook didn't even have a single carry, and LeSean McCoy and Leonard Weaver carried the ball ten times, giving them just three more carries than all of last week. For the most part, I can understand why the running game went away in the second half. The Eagles needed to make up points in a hurry, and they couldn't do that on the ground. They were a pass first offense this year, and the Cowboys knew it. My only problem with taking the running game out of the playbook is that, when you do that, you have to take the play action out of there, as well. No team is going to believe that you are going to run the ball when you've passed it on nine of your last ten plays. The fake just isn't going to work, and your quarterback is going to end up getting hit, fumbling, or throwing into double coverage. All of these things happened last night in the second half. As for Dallas' running game? The Eagles stopped Marion Barber this week, holding him to four yards on three carries, but Felix Jones had an even better game, rushing for 148 yards on 16 carries, including a 73 yard touchdown run in the third quarter that was the dagger.
Basically, this game was a carbon copy of the one that ended the regular season. The Cowboys dominated on both sides of the ball, and the Eagles couldn't do anything right. The defense did what they could in the first quarter, but they fell apart in the second, allowing Dallas to score on five straight drives. I don't care where the Cowboys start with the ball. If you allow them to score five straight times, that's not on the offense for turning the ball over...that's on you. The Cowboys had the Eagles' number all three times they played them, and while Dallas looked better each time around, the Eagles looked worse and worse. As much as it pains me to do, I'm going to give the Cowboys credit for shutting the Eagles down in each game. They were the only team that could do it more than once, so good for them. They deserved to win that game last night, and are obviously the class of the NFC East this year. It wouldn't surprise me to see them in the Super Bowl this season, it really wouldn't.
There is nothing good to take out of this game. In fact, it raises a lot of questions about the future of this team. First and foremost is obviously about what's going to happen to Donovan McNabb. While Andy Reid just signed a long term extension before the playoffs, McNabb did not, and the calls for his head are going to be coming in for a while now, especially after a playoff loss to the Cowboys. While this game was not entirely his fault, he certainly did not play up to his level of performance, and shaky quarterback play will doom an offense each and every time. While I think he should stay, I'm not sure he's going to. I think the Eagles may try and move him now, before his age really becomes a factor in getting rid of him. After Kevin Kolb played well in his two starts this year, there are going to be those that call for him to be the starter next season. To be fair, he did play against the New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs, two teams that aren't exactly known for their defenses, but he looked good in each game. If he doesn't get the starting nod this coming season, I think he will in 2012. McNabb doesn't have much time left in this city, and I can only hope both sides don't burn every bridge they have before he leaves.
Then there's the rest of the offense. Brian Westbrook's time as an Eagle looks like it's coming to an end, and Leonard Weaver is a free agent after the season. I think the first thing that has to happen is the Eagles need to sign Weaver to a long term deal. He really proved his worth at fullback this season, and I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to go back to the days of Tony Hunt and Thomas Tapeh trying to be a lead blocker for Brian Westbrook or LeSean McCoy. Speaking of McCoy, I have a feeling he's going to be locked in as the starting running back for a while now. He showed a lot of potential this season, but when teams focused in on him, he struggled. He's going to have to get better in his second season to bring more balance to the offense.
As for the wide receivers, the first two are clearly set in stone. DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are young, fast and have a lot of talent. Those two aren't going anywhere. After that, the wideout situation gets a bit cloudy. Jason Avant is a free agent to be, and will be looking for a bigger contract. Meanwhile, Kevin Curtis is signed through 2012, and Reggie Brown still has another four years left on his deal, though he's more than likely gone once the salary cap goes away for the 2010 season. Regardless, the offense needs more balance. Jackson and Maclin are great players, but there has to be something other than the big play for this team to win. In all three games, the Cowboys took away the big play, and they won. They were the only team that could do that, and the Eagles had no answer for it. Something has to happen to get this team back into a bit of a short yardage offense. Big plays look nice on the replay board, but they count the same as a one yard touchdown run. If you can't get the big plays when you're a big play offense, you're not going to win. That's exactly what happened against the Cowboys in all three losses. This team needs more balance if they want to go somewhere next season. Oh, and DeSean Jackson? I think you're a great player, but if you don't start showing up against the Cowboys, the city will turn on you. It will happen.
The offensive line is in a state of flux as well. Jamaal Jackson, barring a miracle, is going to miss at least part of the 2010-11 season, and Nick Cole's contract is up, meaning that the Eagles are going to have to look for a center for next year as well. Not only that, but aside from Winston Justice, there isn't a single person on that offensive line who should feel safe about their job for next season. Jason Peters was a disaster against the Cowboys, and I'm not sure how he made the Pro Bowl right now. Todd Herremans and Max Jean-Gilles are both going to have to work at keeping their starting jobs, and I can't wait until the Eagles ship the Andrews brothers out of town. That can't happen soon enough. This might be the first time in a while that I wouldn't be upset if the Eagles decided to take an offensive lineman in the first round of the NFL Draft. I really wouldn't mind.
Then, you come to the back seven on defense. The linebacking corps needs to be completely shaken up. The Eagles didn't have a player this year that could cover a tight end, and the loss of Stewart Bradley in training camp hurt more than anyone wanted to know. Why else would the Eagles have brought back Jeremiah Trotter...again? Hopefully, Bradley can return to form and help solidify the middle of the linebackers, because he needs to. Will Witherspoon more than likely has a starting job at one of the outside posts wrapped up, but then there's Chris Gocong, who also happens to be a free agent in this coming offseason. I've never been that impressed with him, but he's a solid player. Is he solid enough to resign to a long term deal? That I can't say, but I think that the Eagles will be looking in his direction here very shortly to lock him up. If not, they're going to have to fill his place, and that's just another hole to take care of.
As for the secondary, there are not many positives that I can think of right now. Asante Samuel jumps way too many routes, and while his nine interceptions look good on paper, he also gives up a lot of big plays and his tackling is very suspect. Sheldon Brown played over half the season hurt, and I think it finally caught up to him in the last few games of the year. He's going to need to get better and shelve his whining about a new contract before next season starts. The safety position is very weak right now. Sean Jones won't be back, Macho Harris shouldn't be anywhere near the field next season, and Quintin Mikell was exposed without Brian Dawkins there to help back him up. I wouldn't be upset if both safety positions were occupied by other players next year, because Mikell and the revolving door of Sean Jones and Macho Harris just couldn't get anything done as the season went on. The Eagles need that ball-hawking safety back that they had in Brian Dawkins. No one they have right now is like that. They need to find someone like that, whether it's in free agency or the draft.
Truth be told, I don't think this team was nearly as good as their record showed. That 11-5 mark was propped up by a lot of wins against bad teams. The Eagles didn't beat a single playoff team during the regular season, and they actually only beat one team that finished the season with a winning record. On the flip side, four of their five losses came against playoff teams, including two against the Dallas Cowboys. What does that mean? Well, it means that while the Eagles won the games that they should have won, when it came to that next level of competition, they couldn't get there. The Saints, Chargers and Cowboys all handled the Eagles with relative ease, and that's why all three of those teams are still in the playoffs, and the Eagles are now like me, watching the playoffs on a couch. The big play offense is shiny and nice, but without a bit of toughness from the running backs, it's not going to work well. The St. Louis Rams had a great big play offense because they had Marshall Faulk to balance it out. The Eagles need that running back to bring balance to everything. If they can't find him, then defenses will not respect the run and be able to double team DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin all game long. This season started with so much potential, but then ended the way just about every other Eagles season has...with a lot of disappointment and anger. I don't know what this offseason is going to bring, but honestly, nothing will surprise me at this point.
The worst part is, now there's no more football. What the hell am I supposed to do until pitchers and catchers report? The Sixers suck, and the Flyers are...the Flyers. Dammit, I have another six weeks to kill until spring training gets here. God damn Eagles.
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