That was unexpected

Take a good look.....

This is the face of a man who threw a personal best 3 TDs passes last night, and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20 [NFL.com]. Last night's defeat at Soldier Field was nothing more than a debacle! Here are some observations from Sunday night.

1. The Eagles defense was good last night (Seriously). They continued their run stopping dominance last night, holding the Bears to 78 yards rushing on 26 attempts. They held Orton to 18/34 passing for 199 yards. The Birds got 4 sacks, 2 interceptions, and recovered 2 fumbles as well. Those a really good numbers, but the Bears countered with three touchdowns.

2. Who would have thought that Kyle Orton would throw three TD passes? I certainly didn't expect it. I don't think that anyone could have. Greg Olsen burned Chris Gocong for 19 yard strike in the back of the end zone. Marty Booker got the inside position on Quintin Mikell, and Kyle found him for a 23 yard strike over the middle. To cap off the first half, Kyle hits Devin Hester for a 20 yard TD. To their credit, Greg Olsen and Devin Hester made really great catches. Orton put all three throws where only his receiver could get it too.

3. DeSean Jackson looked like a rookie last night. He started the game off with a 22 yard TD reception in the back of the end zone, and finished the game with 5 receptions for 71 yards, 1 TD, and 35 yards rushing on two plays. However, Jackson's muffed punt gave the Bears the ball back at the Eagles 24 yard line, and led to a TD. DeSean also ran the wrong way on a route, and the ball was intercepted. It may not have been his fault, but in this instance I am going go with the veteran's knowledge of the offense, and say that Jackson did indeed run the wrong way.

4. Special Teams/Missed field goals. The Eagles gave the Bears great field position for most of the game. The Eagles were doing what everyone does. Try to keep the ball out of Devin Hester's hands. David Akers missed 2 field goals. 6 pts that would have been the difference between winning and losing.

5. Red Zone offense. Three out of four trips inside the red zone led to points (1 TD, 2 FG). The problem is that the fourth trip the Eagles got stopped on the goal line, and turned the ball over on downs. That was just hard to watch, and extremely disappointing too. The Bears defense dominated the line of scrimmage.

6. Injuries, were they a factor? Absolutely. Did they cost us the game? No. The Eagles were able to move the ball the entire game without Shawn Andrews or Brian Westbrook. They would have made a difference in the game, but their absence didn't cost us the game either.

What did you see?

Take today and get out all of your frustrations. We have a huge game at home next week with the Redskins.

GO BIRDS!!!!!

Eagles Bears Pt. 2

We’re heading into week 4 of the season, and the Eagles will travel to the “Windy City” to face the Chicago Bears. We looked at how the Bears Offense will match up against the Eagles defense. Now let’s observe the other side of the coin, Eagles offense, Bears defense.
The Eagles got banged up a little in week 3 against the Steelers, and that could have an impact on how the Eagles attack the Bears’ defense. Here are the keys for the Eagles offense. First the Eagles have to protect Donovan McNabb. The backups are going to have to bring there “A” game. Lastly, the tight ends need to establish their presence in the passing game.
Everyone knows that the Eagles are going to throw the football more times than not. So naturally, the offensive line needs to protect the quarterback. This is especially import this week because of McNabb’s chest injury. When he returned to last weeks game you could see that his chest was hurting him, and affected his throw. The offensive must maintain the pocket, and keep the Bears from taking shots. Jon Runyan, Max Jean-Gilles, Jamaal Jackson, Todd Herremans, and William Thomas need to keep the pocket in tact for the entire play. If the pocket breaks down, Donovan will take some unnecessary hits as he steps up towards the line of scrimmage, or out of the pocket.
As mentioned before the Eagles will be going into this week’s game banged up. Donovan McNabb has not practiced all week because of a chest contusion. Shawn Andrews missed the Steelers game with a lower back injury, and probably won’t play against the Bears. Brian Westbrook suffered an ankle sprain, and is listed as day-to-day. L.J. Smith has practiced this week either, because of a lower back injury. And to wrap it up, Tony Hunt suffered a concussion last week. Of the 5 players named, McNabb and Hunt are the only two that are definite for the game on Sunday. This means that some guys are going to have to step up. Correll Buckhalter took over for Westbrook after he left the Steelers game, and he filled in perfectly. Buckhalter racked up 87 all purpose yards (43 rushing, 44 receiving) on his way to scoring the games only touchdown. He will need to do more of the same against the Bears. Lorenzo Booker will need to step up as well. 16 all purpose yards are not enough. Even if Westbrook is able to play (highly unlikely), he will be limited, so Buckhalter and Booker will be vital to moving the ball. Max Jean-Gilles had to fill in for Shawn Andrews last week, and Max did a good job. He will be tested this week, as he will be facing Tommie Harris. Nick Cole could see some action at center, because of a quadriceps injury that is bothering Jamaal Jackson. Brent Celek could be seeing more time this week if L.J. Smith is limited, or out. Although he has not seen many passes come his way this season, Celek needs to make the most of the ones he does see.
Against cover two defenses there are always going to up openings in the seam, and that is a perfect place for our tight ends to sit down in. Brent Celek and L.J. Smith could receive more looks this week against the Bears Tampa 2 defense, and they have to capitalize on them. If Celek and Smith can makes plays, they will keep drives going, and be a huge threat in the red zone. L.J. has taken a lot of heat from the fans for his performance so far, and Celek hasn’t gotten that many looks. If Donovan’s chest is still sore on game day, he may not be able to make all the deeper throws. That could mean that the ball will be thrown their way.
The Bears use a Tampa 2 defensive scheme, which means that the Eagles will not see a lot of blitzing. In 2008 the Bears are giving up 174.7 yards a game through the air, and 152 on the ground, but that doesn’t mean that they are to be underestimated. They are strong defense, and have the ability to control the speed, and flow of the game. The keys for the bears will be to get to the quarterback, Disrupt the timing and route running of the receivers, and create turnovers.
As mentioned before the Eagles won’t see constant blitzing, so the Bears defensive line will be primarily responsible for creating most of the pressure on McNabb. Not to oversimplify things, but the Bears will probably test the abilities of Max Jean-Gilles, Jamaal Jackson, and Nick Cole based on injury and experience. The Bears’ front four will be attacking the Eagles’ offensive line on every play. If they can get to McNabb they will force either to step up and take excessive hits, or make errant throws that the Bears linebackers and secondary will capitalize on.
The second for the Bears will be to disrupt the route running, and timing of the Eagles Receivers. Probably the best way for them to do is to be physical. The Bears secondary are made up of solid tacklers that have good size. By bumping the receivers off their routes the Bears will disrupt the timing between McNabb and his receivers. If the Eagles receivers are able to get into their routes they can expect some big hits as they try to make the catch.
The final key for the Bears is to create turnovers. If the Bears’ front four put pressure on McNabb, and he doesn’t get enough on the ball, Hunter Hillenmeyer and Lance Briggs will be stepping right into the passing lane to pick it off. While Hillenmeyer and Briggs are covering the hash marks to the sidelines, Brian Urlacher will be covering everything in between. They are big, and fast. They will step into passing lanes to make the pick, or level big hits, and force fumbles. All the while they still have help at the next level. Like the linebackers the Bears’ secondary are waiting to make the tackle, force a fumble, or make the interception. They will always have help over the top, which gives them the ability to take chances and make plays. The Bears offense relies heavily on the defense to give them the best possible field position.
The Bears defense has fallen on tough times over the past two years, but they are defense that are still strong and reliable. They cannot be underestimated, because they can, and will capitalize on mistakes. The Eagles have some injuries, and need to have some players make a big statement on Sunday. I think that the Eagles will be able to capitalize on the Bears’ zone coverage, but they aren’t going to put up offensive numbers like they did in the first 2 games. I feel confident we’ll come out on top though.

Thoughts?

GO BIRDS!!!!!

Jim Johnson visits Sesame Street

It's time for the Eagles recap. Let's took a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly (injuries) for the "Battle of PA." Yesterday's 15-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers was a must win. Not because of standings, both the Giants and Cowboys are 3-0. It was a must win, because we needed to bounce back from last week's loss, to play another very good team. Losing this game could have put us in an aweful place (last in the NFC East).



The Eagles defense physically dominated the Steelers offense in every way possible. We held the Steelers to just 33 yards rushing on 19 attempts. We didn't just stop the run, we forced a team to abandon their running all together. "Fast" Willie Parker, who ran for 243 yards in the first 2 games of the season, was held to 20 yards on 13 carries. It's quite an accomplishment to take away the Steelers running game.

The Eagles controlled the passing game too. Jim Johnson sent blitz after blitz at Roethlisberger (13/25 for 131 yards, 1 INT, 2 fumbles), sacking him 9 times. The pressure came from everywhere. Johnson sent linebackers (Gaither 1.5 sacks), safeties (Dawkins 1 sack, 1 forced fumble), and let us not forget the defensive line. They were all over Ben for the entire game, forcing him to move all around.

Amidst all the sacks, the Eagles defense recovered 2 forced fumbles, made1 interception, and got a safety. The Eagles defense appears to be much improved in the takeaway column from a year ago.

On the other side of the ball the Eagles looked good in some areas, and not so good in others. Donovan McNabb completed 24 passes to 7 different receivers, but no one went over 100 yards receiving (Baskett 85, Buchalter 44, Jackson 40, Avant 24, Hunt 12, Booker 5, Lewis 4). To the credit of the Steelers they were able to get pressure on Donovan/Kolb, and forced 2 interceptions. After Brian Westbrook left the game with an ankle injury, Correll Buckhalter filled in nicely with 87 all purpose yards and the games only touchdown.

The Eagles won the game on both sides of the ball, but it wasn't a glamorous win by any stretch of the imagination. The Eagles sustained some injuries in yesterday's win. Donovan McNabb missed most of the opening drive of the second half, but did return. Westbrook is scheduled to have an MRI today, and we are all waiting to hear the outcome. McNabb and Westbrook were joined by: L.J. Smith (back), Tony Hunt (concussion), and Shawn Andrews did not play. A win is a win, and that is a good thing. Next week we face Kyle Orton (kneckbeard) and his Chicago Bears.

GO BIRDS!!!!!

These are some views from the other side of the Steel Curtain:

• OFTOT has just added some names to his list.



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