Oct 06 2008
Annual Eagles Swoon
Eagles fans…step away from the ledge. This is season 10 of the Andy Reid-Donovan McNabb era. And guess what, it is generally like every other season. The Eagles fail to play a consistent 60 minutes of football.
Why? Because apparently Reid seems so focused on early performance that it seems to take him 8 weeks to learn how to close out games, and play for a full sixty minutes. This season already against professional teams (excluding St. Louis who is clearly not an NFL team), they’ve managed 68 points in four games in the first half. Second halves of games? 21. They haven’t scored more than 7 points in any second half, and in fact only one second half touchdown. Meanwhile, they’ve scored no less than 10 in any first half.
This is about coaching and team philosophy. The Eagles are a bully team. They set out each game to do only two things, one get a quick early lead with their scripted plays and two kill the opposing QB. If either scenario fails or the other team continues to fight, the Eagles lose. The Rams rolled over, and the Steelers couldn’t keep Rothelisberger upright, hence the Eagles won. The Bears looked the Eagles in the eye, and punched them 4 straight times on the goalline. The Redskins didn’t quit, and waited out the impatient Eagles.
Note this from Matt Mosely’s blog:
Eagles should’ve stuck to the script: I was intrigued by something Redskins cornerback Carlos Rogers told me immediately after the game. He said he marveled at the Eagles’ first 15 plays of the game, but noticed that things grew stale after that. It’s not as if he was trying to badmouth the Eagles, but I think it speaks to how Philadelphia’s first drive looked dramatically different from the way it played the rest of the day.
“We’d never seen those plays they came out with,” Rogers said. “I’m serious. Those were great plays. But after that, I guess our coaching took over.”
The Eagles most inventive, varied and consistent plays are usually run early. The Eagles simply expect to put the game away offensively in the first 15 plays and rely on the defense the rest of the games. Well that might be possible, if the offense where able to run the ball. First drive, 6 various running plays, second drive 3 runs for 9 total in the first quarter. Second quarter, two drives, both 3 and outs, both had a single run. So in the first half of a 14-9 game, they ran the ball 11 times. They’d run it only 7 more times all game. Where’s the element of surprise? Even their “trick” plays are simply reverses. Where is the WR pass off one of those reverses; oh, wait the Redskins did that. The Redskins clearly game planned to run the ball, and despite being down 14-0, they stuck to it. The Redskins committed to offensive balance through 3 quarters, until they ran the ball down the Eagles throat finishing the game with 44 rushes to just 18 for the Eagles.
Reid, where is the double move? Why don’t the Eagles ever set corners up off their myriad of slants, or even off of their 10 screens per game.
Reid, where was Correll Buckhalter? Apparently, Brian Westbrook fractured two ribs in the first half, and yet Buck only had two carries. What is the point of having a more physical complement to Westbrook on the roster if you aren’t going to use him?
Reid, where was LJ Smith after the first drive? Two catches there, and then just one after that. I thought Smith was a part of the Eagles failings in the red zone last year. Well, he’s back this year, and yet the passing game is an afterthought in the red zone.
Reid, where is McNabb’s running ability in the red zone? If it is him who’s holding back on running there, maybe you should encourage him, by I dunno calling a roll out? Gee, what’s the point of having a mobile quarterback if you are never going to call a designed run or option play. I’m no proposing his running being a big part of the offense anymore, but it should be a viable threat. Now, he’s only a threat to break a tackle and pass.
Reid, why did you insist on running inside the five yard line two weeks in a row? The Eagles have spread the field with 3 and 4 receivers and run many shotgun plays, except the past two weeks with the game on the line. Obviously, the Bears game they lost the game by not being able to score there. Meanwhile, in the Redskins game, if they’d scored a touchdown rather than a field goal, I believe they might have won that game. The crowd and defense would have been rejuvenated, and they would only have needed a field goal. Whether or not McNabb checked out of a pass to a run in which Westbrook was stuffed on 3rd and one is inconsequential. The Eagles didn’t attack the endzone on either play.
Reid, when are the Eagles going to cover a tight end? The Eagles have generally speaking done exactly what one would expect with Assante Samuel, Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown at corner. They’ve effectively shut down every receiver against them. All WR against them have totalled 37 receptions, 497 yards and 4 TDs, or roughly Larry Fitzgerald’s numbers for the season (31, 467, 3); meanwhile TEs have 33, 428, 2. Keep allowing the TEs to perform against your defense, and they will continue to stay on the field for long stretches.
The Eagles look shockingly similar to last year except for a vastly improved special teams coverage and return unit (although the kick return unit has done nothing yet). They continue to move the ball only between the 20s, and mostly through the air. They continue to struggle against running teams that remain patient. They continue to kick too many field goals.
The Eagles need to find their identity quickly, and this is disturbing considering the head coach, the defensive coordinator and quarterback have been here for 10 years. This isn’t the first time the Eagles have struggled this way. It seems like they annually falter for 3 or so games, and nothing looks crisp past a few plays. Then they have a bye, and get on a roll. Well, the problem is, they are playing in a division where the other teams now sit at 13-2, and already have two divisional losses against no wins. There aren’t 3 wildcards and now they have a long road ahead. Amazing how quickly a season can become derailed, but take heart, it can bounce back just as quickly.
The Redskins were left for dead after being abused by the Giants in week one. However, they stuck with their identity and pulled themselves up off the mat. The Eagles can either get up like Rocky or stay down like Kimbo Slice.
