What Happened?
The Eagles scored 28 points in the first quarter of last night's game and never looked back, setting a team record for yardage and scoring their most points in a single game since 1934. Michael Vick passed for over 300 yards, threw four touchdowns and rushed for two more.
The Good:
Michael Vick looked like he was playing a video game. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 333 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for 80 yards and two more touchdowns, making him the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for over 300 yards, rush for over 50 yards, throw four touchdowns and rush for two more in a single game.
Jerome Harrison carried the ball 11 times for 109 yards and his first touchdown as an Eagle on a 50 yard run in the first quarter.
LeSean McCoy only carried the ball 11 times for 43 yards, but he also caught five passes for 51 yards and a touchdown.
DeSean Jackson started the game off with an 88 yard touchdown catch, and while he only had one other catch for ten yards, that was all that was needed.
Jeremy Maclin caught four passes for 79 yards and had a 48 yard touchdown catch that started the second quarter. It was his seventh touchdown of the year.
Jason Avant had five catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.
The Eagles only managed to sack Donovan McNabb twice, but had him under pressure almost the entire game, and forced three interceptions.
Dimitri Patterson intercepted two of McNabb's passes, running one back for a 40 yard touchdown that capped the scoring.
The Eagles forced the Redskins to go 0-10 on third downs, and held the ball for almost 40 minutes.
The Eagles only had six penalties called against them for just 35 yards.
The Bad:
Brent Celek only caught two passes for eight yards. He's been a nonfactor this entire season.
The defense did look a little soft at times, allowing 28 points on some deep throws by McNabb. Plus, some guy named Keiland Williams scored three touchdowns.
The Eagles didn't score 60 points. I wanted to see that.
The Ugly:
Nothing to see here. The Eagles just blew out a division opponent and can control first place with a win on Sunday.
The Breakdown:
All you needed to know about last night's game came on the first play. Backed up at their own 12 yard line, the Philadelphia Eagles came out and ran a play action fake to LeSean McCoy. Michael Vick had protection and ran out to the left, then launched a pass to DeSean Jackson that Jackson caught in stride at the Washington 35 yard line. LaRon Landry fell down attempting a tackle, and Jackson walked backwards into the end zone from ten yards out. Eighteen seconds into the game, the Eagles had a 7-0 lead, and it was all downhill from there for the Redskins, while the Eagles were just starting a historic night.
The first five times that the Eagles had the ball on offense, they found the end zone, and each one of the scores came either from the arm or the leg of Michael Vick. There is literally nothing else that can be said about this man right now. If you're an Eagles fan, you may hate what he did in the past, you may never like him as a person, but you have to admit that he is one hell of a football player. Last night may have been Vick's best showing ever as a professional player, and that's including his time down in Atlanta. Throughout this season, we've been able to see Vick evolve as a quarterback, and last night may have been the culmination of that evolution.
As a member of the Falcons, Vick's progression in the pocket was pretty much for him to look at his primary receiver, then Alge Crumpler, then run if both of them were covered. Last night, you could see Vick actually looking for each receiver on a play before he thought about running the football. Even when he did scramble in the pocket, he was still looking downfield, trying to find a receiver to pass to. When there wasn't anyone open, Vick tucked it and ran, which he did to the tune of 80 yards and two touchdowns. So far this season, Vick has 11 passing touchdowns, four rushing touchdowns, has completed 62.7% of his passes and hasn't thrown an interception. Those numbers are in just five and a half games. Could you imagine what they might be at had Vick played a full game against the Redskins in the first game, and not had to miss the games against the Falcons, Titans and 49ers? He might not just be in the talk for MVP this season, he could be leading it.
Of course, Vick is just one player on the offense, and despite his amazing night, it was a total team effort against the Washington defense. Four different players caught touchdown passes, and Jerome Harrison showed why he might be the best number two running back in the NFC with his first 100 yard game as an Eagle. LeSean McCoy had some issues running the ball, but had over 50 yards receiving and caught a touchdown on a shovel pass in that first quarter. DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant all had over 70 receiving yards and a touchdown, and the Eagles controlled the ball for almost 40 minutes on offense, setting a franchise record for yards, and most of them came before the fourth quarter.
On the other side of the ball, the defense has to get some credit for allowing the offense to get out to that big lead. The Redskins went three and out on their opening drive, which led to the second touchdown of the game. On the next Washington drive, Donovan McNabb was intercepted by rookie Kurt Coleman, who started in place of the injured Nate Allen. The Eagles scored again to put themselves up 21-0. The next two Washington drives also ended in three and outs, and the Eagles turned them both into touchdowns. Before the Redskins got a single first down, the Eagles had scored 35 points. That's how a defense can make an impact without getting many turnovers. McNabb was under pressure for most of the night, and while the Eagles only managed two sacks against him, he still looked like the same McNabb in pressure, as passes were flying over the heads of receivers or skidding at their feet. I'm not going to talk about the extension that McNabb just signed, but if that was his response to it, the Redskins might want to get their money back quickly.
Now, the defense wasn't perfect all night long. After the Eagles went up 35-0, they allowed back to back scoring drives thanks to long passes from McNabb to Fred Davis and Anthony Armstrong. It turned out to not be an area of concern, but the Eagles did show a little bit of weakness there. At the time of the pass to Davis, there were still almost three quarters of football left to be played. The Eagles had already scored four touchdowns in a quarter, so why couldn't the Redskins? That killer instinct wasn't there at times, and while the margin of victory makes it seem like it didn't matter, against a team with a better defense, it will. The run defense was solid again, but the secondary still needs to step it up more. Dimitri Patterson had a good game with two interceptions, but he also got burned on a couple of passes as well. Patterson is better than Ellis Hobbs, but the Eagles are going to have to address the cornerback situation in the offseason. Opposing teams can pick on the corner opposite Asante Samuel all day long.
Honestly, this was one of the better games that I have ever gotten to watch as an Eagles fan during the regular season. With everything that went into the first Redskins/Eagles matchup, and the result that came out of it, I was just hoping that the Eagles would be able to split the season series with the Redskins. What happened instead was something out of a video game. I mean that literally, I have played games of Madden that looked like that game last night. Michael Vick is on another planet right now, and needs to be resigned as quickly as possible. Imagine saying that at this point last year. The offense may be the fastest in the NFL, and the defense just needs to do enough to let the offense score points.
If you look at the schedule for the Eagles, these past two games and the next two upcoming games might be the toughest stretch for the team this season. They had to play the Colts, go to Washington for a rematch with the Redskins, then take on the Giants and Bears, two first place teams. Well, so far the Eagles are 2-0 on that stretch and are looking more and more like one of the better teams in the NFC. When you couple that with the fact that they beat the Falcons with Kevin Kolb at quarterback and DeSean Jackson missing most of the game, this team could be a big factor going into the last half of the season. I'm not saying anything else yet, because this coming game against the Giants will be the measuring stick for the rest of the year. New York got embarrassed at home against the Cowboys last week, possibly because they were looking ahead to this game with the Eagles, and now the game is for first place in the NFC East with just six games to play following the game. It's as much of a must win for both teams as it can possibly be.
Now, if the Eagles can put forth even 75% of what they showed on Monday Night, they'll be in business. This season could turn out to be something else, but it's not there yet. There are still steps to be taken. Remember, last night was just one game. Sure, the Eagles scored the most points that they'd scored since 1934, but that's not going to get them to the playoffs. Winning the rest of their games is going to do that. It's one game at a time from here on out.
Showing posts with label Bow Wow Wow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bow Wow Wow. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Eagles Aftermath: Eagles-34, Falcons-7
What happened?
The Eagles took out a depleted Atlanta Falcons team behind a strong effort by the defense...and Michael Vick. The win is their third in a row, and moves the team to 8-4.
The Good:
Leonard Weaver had a great game, rushing for 37 yards and catching two passes for 63 yards and a touchdown.
I can't believe I'm typing this, but Michael Vick looked great in his return to Atlanta, scoring on a five yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter, and then completing a five yard touchdown pass to Brent Celek in the fourth to finish the scoring. He rushed the ball four times for 17 yards, and went 2/2 in the air for 48 yards.
Jeremy Maclin played well as the number one receiver today, catching four passes for 83 yards.
The defense was excellent, shutting out the Falcons until the last play of the game. Sheldon Brown returned an interception for a touchdown, Chris Redman was sacked twice, and the Eagles knocked 11 passes down.
He had his struggles in the red zone again, but Donovan McNabb looked good for the three quarters that he played. He completed 14 of 25 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown.
The Bad:
Though the defense was great, they had some sloppy play. The Eagles committed eight penalties for 62 yards in the game.
In the first half, the red zone offense was bad, scoring just one touchdown in four trips inside the Atlanta 20.
The Ugly:
LeSean McCoy rushed the ball just six times for two yards.
The Breakdown:
This week, there was no fourth quarter comeback necessary for the Eagles. Playing an Atlanta Falcons team without starting quarterback Matt Ryan and starting running back Michael Turner, the Eagles jumped on the Falcons early and then finished them off the second half. Michael Vick even got a chance to make an impact in his return to the Georgia Dome, as played for part of the fourth quarter and scored two touchdowns.
The first half wasn't exactly pretty, but the Eagles still were able to make their mark on the game. From their first drive, they made their way into Atlanta territory, but then came the same problems that they've been having for most of the season. In their four red zone visits in the first half, the Eagles managed just one touchdown and two field goals. David Akers missed a 39 yard field goal, but luckily, that wouldn't come back to bite him. even so, the Eagles still had their problems. They couldn't convert on third down in the red zone in the first half, their running game was stagnant the entire half, save for a few runs by Leonard Weaver, and when Jason Avant did manage to find the end zone, the play was called back because of a penalty on the offensive line.
Even with all those problems, the defense of the Eagles was up to the challenge today. They may not have sacked Chris Redman that many times, but they did quite well at putting their hands up and knocking down several of his passes throughout the day. The Eagles defended 11 of Redman's passes, and had him looking off balanced the entire game. The only time that the Falcons challenged in the first half, the defense made a play that shifted the entire momentum of the game. With just under a minute to play in the half, the Falcons managed to move the ball down to the one yard line. Atlanta ran straight at the Eagles on three straight plays, and each time, the Eagles stopped them. Jason Snelling was stopped on fourth down at the one, and Atlanta never challenged again.
The Eagles made the Falcons pay in the third quarter, as they scored twice to put the game out of reach. In all honesty, the second half was really the Michael Vick show for the Eagles in Atlanta. As much as I didn't want the Eagles to bring in Vick when he was reinstated by the NFL, I was happy for him today. He scored his first touchdown of the year on the first drive of the third quarter on a five yard run. Chris Redman would get the Falcons into Philadelphia territory on the first drive for Atlanta in the third quarter, but Sheldon Brown sealed the game with an 83 yard interception return for a touchdown that made Vick's return into the game almost mandatory.
Hearing the Atlanta fans chanting "We Want Vick, We Want Vick" was completely amazing late in the third quarter. I couldn't believe what I had heard, and the Eagles were happy to oblige. Vick came in mid-drive following a Sean Jones interception of Chris Redman, and showed the arm strength that made him one of the top college quarterbacks coming into the league. Vick nailed Reggie Brown for a 43 yard pass, and then finished the drive with a five yard touchdown pass to Brent Celek that would put a cap on the scoring for the Eagles on the day. It was actually nice to see Vick get out there during a game and run the offense as well as he did today. For the limited time that he did play, he looked better than he had all season, and scoring his first two touchdowns of the season must have felt very, very good.
The only complaint I have about the second half is that the defense lost the shutout on the very last play of the game. If there's one thing that a defense prides itself on, it's their ability to stop an opponent. Today, the Eagles did that on defense for 59 minutes and 54 seconds, but Chris Redman hit Roddy White on the last play of the game, and the shutout was lost. I don't mind it that much, since the game was clearly in hand, but it was the prevent defense that was played that bothered me. The Eagles had punished Redman all game long, and then they stopped for one drive, and it came back to haunt them. Luckily, it was still a 27 point lead for the Eagles, but the loss of the shutout hurt.
It's coming down to the home stretch now for the Eagles, and if they keep playing like they did today, they can look forward to another trip to the playoffs. Aside from some bad penalties and sloppy play in the red zone in the first half, the team looked very good. Atlanta is a tough team to play in the Georgia Dome, no matter who is playing at quarterback and running back. Donovan McNabb has looked solid over the last three weeks, and today, the Eagles ran 27 passing plays, and 26 running plays. It's that balance that will push the Eagles through the rest of the season, and with a game against the Giants looming next week, the Birds are going to have to stick to that balance to take out the Giants and move one step closer to a playoff berth.
The Eagles took out a depleted Atlanta Falcons team behind a strong effort by the defense...and Michael Vick. The win is their third in a row, and moves the team to 8-4.
The Good:
Leonard Weaver had a great game, rushing for 37 yards and catching two passes for 63 yards and a touchdown.
I can't believe I'm typing this, but Michael Vick looked great in his return to Atlanta, scoring on a five yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter, and then completing a five yard touchdown pass to Brent Celek in the fourth to finish the scoring. He rushed the ball four times for 17 yards, and went 2/2 in the air for 48 yards.
Jeremy Maclin played well as the number one receiver today, catching four passes for 83 yards.
The defense was excellent, shutting out the Falcons until the last play of the game. Sheldon Brown returned an interception for a touchdown, Chris Redman was sacked twice, and the Eagles knocked 11 passes down.
He had his struggles in the red zone again, but Donovan McNabb looked good for the three quarters that he played. He completed 14 of 25 passes for 238 yards and a touchdown.
The Bad:
Though the defense was great, they had some sloppy play. The Eagles committed eight penalties for 62 yards in the game.
In the first half, the red zone offense was bad, scoring just one touchdown in four trips inside the Atlanta 20.
The Ugly:
LeSean McCoy rushed the ball just six times for two yards.
The Breakdown:
This week, there was no fourth quarter comeback necessary for the Eagles. Playing an Atlanta Falcons team without starting quarterback Matt Ryan and starting running back Michael Turner, the Eagles jumped on the Falcons early and then finished them off the second half. Michael Vick even got a chance to make an impact in his return to the Georgia Dome, as played for part of the fourth quarter and scored two touchdowns.
The first half wasn't exactly pretty, but the Eagles still were able to make their mark on the game. From their first drive, they made their way into Atlanta territory, but then came the same problems that they've been having for most of the season. In their four red zone visits in the first half, the Eagles managed just one touchdown and two field goals. David Akers missed a 39 yard field goal, but luckily, that wouldn't come back to bite him. even so, the Eagles still had their problems. They couldn't convert on third down in the red zone in the first half, their running game was stagnant the entire half, save for a few runs by Leonard Weaver, and when Jason Avant did manage to find the end zone, the play was called back because of a penalty on the offensive line.
Even with all those problems, the defense of the Eagles was up to the challenge today. They may not have sacked Chris Redman that many times, but they did quite well at putting their hands up and knocking down several of his passes throughout the day. The Eagles defended 11 of Redman's passes, and had him looking off balanced the entire game. The only time that the Falcons challenged in the first half, the defense made a play that shifted the entire momentum of the game. With just under a minute to play in the half, the Falcons managed to move the ball down to the one yard line. Atlanta ran straight at the Eagles on three straight plays, and each time, the Eagles stopped them. Jason Snelling was stopped on fourth down at the one, and Atlanta never challenged again.
The Eagles made the Falcons pay in the third quarter, as they scored twice to put the game out of reach. In all honesty, the second half was really the Michael Vick show for the Eagles in Atlanta. As much as I didn't want the Eagles to bring in Vick when he was reinstated by the NFL, I was happy for him today. He scored his first touchdown of the year on the first drive of the third quarter on a five yard run. Chris Redman would get the Falcons into Philadelphia territory on the first drive for Atlanta in the third quarter, but Sheldon Brown sealed the game with an 83 yard interception return for a touchdown that made Vick's return into the game almost mandatory.
Hearing the Atlanta fans chanting "We Want Vick, We Want Vick" was completely amazing late in the third quarter. I couldn't believe what I had heard, and the Eagles were happy to oblige. Vick came in mid-drive following a Sean Jones interception of Chris Redman, and showed the arm strength that made him one of the top college quarterbacks coming into the league. Vick nailed Reggie Brown for a 43 yard pass, and then finished the drive with a five yard touchdown pass to Brent Celek that would put a cap on the scoring for the Eagles on the day. It was actually nice to see Vick get out there during a game and run the offense as well as he did today. For the limited time that he did play, he looked better than he had all season, and scoring his first two touchdowns of the season must have felt very, very good.
The only complaint I have about the second half is that the defense lost the shutout on the very last play of the game. If there's one thing that a defense prides itself on, it's their ability to stop an opponent. Today, the Eagles did that on defense for 59 minutes and 54 seconds, but Chris Redman hit Roddy White on the last play of the game, and the shutout was lost. I don't mind it that much, since the game was clearly in hand, but it was the prevent defense that was played that bothered me. The Eagles had punished Redman all game long, and then they stopped for one drive, and it came back to haunt them. Luckily, it was still a 27 point lead for the Eagles, but the loss of the shutout hurt.
It's coming down to the home stretch now for the Eagles, and if they keep playing like they did today, they can look forward to another trip to the playoffs. Aside from some bad penalties and sloppy play in the red zone in the first half, the team looked very good. Atlanta is a tough team to play in the Georgia Dome, no matter who is playing at quarterback and running back. Donovan McNabb has looked solid over the last three weeks, and today, the Eagles ran 27 passing plays, and 26 running plays. It's that balance that will push the Eagles through the rest of the season, and with a game against the Giants looming next week, the Birds are going to have to stick to that balance to take out the Giants and move one step closer to a playoff berth.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
I can't believe I'm posting this...the Eagles sign Michael Vick
Now, there are a few moves that have happened in the past that have made me shake my head with the Eagles. Benching Donovan last season at the half against the Ravens, the entire T.O. fiasco, letting Brian Dawkins go. This takes the cake tonight. I'm sure you've heard about it by now, but, Michael Vick has agreed to a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. As it's being reported, the deal is for two years, at $1.6 million this year and a club option for $5.2 million next year.
First of all, one has to wonder about the public relations backlash that this is going to have for the Eagles. While they are one of the more active teams in any community, and Vick has started to repair his image, this is still going to be something very, very interesting when he shows up for his first game in two weeks. What will the response of animal lovers be? How will the Eagles deal with it? While this may be overblown, the fact of the matter is that this situation is there and is quite real. It's going to be up to the Eagles to handle whatever happens now. It's on their hands.
The other thing I'm concerned about is just Michael Vick in general. Now, I'm not going to lie, I've never liked Vick. I didn't like him when he was the "ultimate weapon" for the Falcons, I didn't like him when he was Ron Mexico, I certainly didn't like him through the dogfighting crap, and I still don't like him now. As far as I'm concerned, he's one of the most overrated quarterbacks in NFL history. He was a great athlete, but that was about it. He couldn't throw for more than 55% accuracy, and his attitude wasn't great, either. He always seemed like someone that I didn't want to have in the locker room, and now here he is.
That being said, there's no going back now, so I might as well look at how this will impact the Eagles. The first thought in my mind was that Kevin Kolb's injury has to be worse than what the Eagles are saying right now. This wouldn't have happened without Kolb getting hurt, and if they think he's going to miss a lot of time, then this is a necessary move. If Kolb isn't hurt that badly, then AJ Feeley might be looking for work, which is a shame, because I think Feeley is one of the best emergency quarterbacks in the NFL. Of course, then there's how Donovan is going to take this. I would have to think that the Eagles would put this past him first, because I don't think that springing this news on him would go over too well. Donovan's shown in the past he can have thin skin when it comes to things like this, so we're going to have to wait and see what happens.
Honestly, I'm not too thrilled with this. Like I said, I don't like Michael Vick the person, and I think Michael Vick the football player is horribly overrated, and that's the guy that wasn't sitting in jail for almost two years. At best, he can provide a little more to an already solid looking offense. At worst, he's going to be a pain in the ass distraction, especially when PETA decides to show up and make a scene at every Eagles game until he's gone. The Eagles clearly see him as a one year trial, since that second year is for a lot more money and is a club option. I can see him in the Wildcat formation and maybe as a second tight end or running back, but not as a quarterback. At this point, his best option is to be an athlete, which is how he'll catch on.
Of course, I'm not cheering for him regardless. Like I said, I never liked Vick, even before all of the dogfighting stuff came out. I hated him with the Falcons, and I'll hate him with the Eagles. You can put that on your record.
ESPN: Michael Vick signs two year deal with Eagles
First of all, one has to wonder about the public relations backlash that this is going to have for the Eagles. While they are one of the more active teams in any community, and Vick has started to repair his image, this is still going to be something very, very interesting when he shows up for his first game in two weeks. What will the response of animal lovers be? How will the Eagles deal with it? While this may be overblown, the fact of the matter is that this situation is there and is quite real. It's going to be up to the Eagles to handle whatever happens now. It's on their hands.
The other thing I'm concerned about is just Michael Vick in general. Now, I'm not going to lie, I've never liked Vick. I didn't like him when he was the "ultimate weapon" for the Falcons, I didn't like him when he was Ron Mexico, I certainly didn't like him through the dogfighting crap, and I still don't like him now. As far as I'm concerned, he's one of the most overrated quarterbacks in NFL history. He was a great athlete, but that was about it. He couldn't throw for more than 55% accuracy, and his attitude wasn't great, either. He always seemed like someone that I didn't want to have in the locker room, and now here he is.
That being said, there's no going back now, so I might as well look at how this will impact the Eagles. The first thought in my mind was that Kevin Kolb's injury has to be worse than what the Eagles are saying right now. This wouldn't have happened without Kolb getting hurt, and if they think he's going to miss a lot of time, then this is a necessary move. If Kolb isn't hurt that badly, then AJ Feeley might be looking for work, which is a shame, because I think Feeley is one of the best emergency quarterbacks in the NFL. Of course, then there's how Donovan is going to take this. I would have to think that the Eagles would put this past him first, because I don't think that springing this news on him would go over too well. Donovan's shown in the past he can have thin skin when it comes to things like this, so we're going to have to wait and see what happens.
Honestly, I'm not too thrilled with this. Like I said, I don't like Michael Vick the person, and I think Michael Vick the football player is horribly overrated, and that's the guy that wasn't sitting in jail for almost two years. At best, he can provide a little more to an already solid looking offense. At worst, he's going to be a pain in the ass distraction, especially when PETA decides to show up and make a scene at every Eagles game until he's gone. The Eagles clearly see him as a one year trial, since that second year is for a lot more money and is a club option. I can see him in the Wildcat formation and maybe as a second tight end or running back, but not as a quarterback. At this point, his best option is to be an athlete, which is how he'll catch on.
Of course, I'm not cheering for him regardless. Like I said, I never liked Vick, even before all of the dogfighting stuff came out. I hated him with the Falcons, and I'll hate him with the Eagles. You can put that on your record.
ESPN: Michael Vick signs two year deal with Eagles
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