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!!!!!

Monday Morning Glory

Fly Eagles, Fly. On the road to victory.
Fly Eagles, Fly. Score a touchdown 1,23.

Good Monday morning, and welcome to a glorious day after a win post. I was fortunate enough to attend yesterdays, dismantling of the St. Louis Rams 38-3. It was such an awesome site, and the exactly what the Eagles, and the city of Philadelphia needed to see yesterday. It's a great game in Philly, when the only thing the "Boo Birds" have as ammunition, is the fact we gave up a field goal late in the 4th, and lost the shutout. So, let's talk Eagles.
Receiving:
DeSean Jackson shouldn't be annointed as our savior, but he is making a strong case for himself. Jackson caught 6 passes for 106 yards, and an additional 97 yards returning points. Which included one for 60 yards, that was close to being a touchdown. He stepped in yesterday, and met the expectations of the Eagles, and the crowd. Although this was just his first game, against a sub-par team, Jackson performed admirably. Next week's Monday Night battle with Dallas, will be a more challenging test.

Not falling too far from the Jackson tree, the other Eagles' receivers stepped up as well. Hank Baskett had 2 catches for 102 yards, and a touchdown. Greg Lewis had 104 yards receiving too. In total 8 players had receptions. This is important, when a team doesn't have one go-to-guy at receiver. Everyone is going to have to chip in, and yesterday they did.

A point of displeasure was L.J. Smith (according to some accounts), but certainly not mine. He had 5 receptions for 39 yards, and a tough Touchdown grab in the first quarter. Stonehands? I think not. He did drop a shovel-esque pass in the endzone, but I didn't think that he did a bad job.
Passing:
Behind every good pass, there is a good quarterback. Donovan McNabb, was great!!!! Top passer for the week with 361 yards passing, completing 21 of 33 passing attempts, 3 touchdowns, and a QB rating of 131. He hit his receivers in stride, and looked nimble in the pocket. Donovan looks like he's ready to be our quarterback, and I'm ready for him to do that too!
Running:
Brian Westbrook looked good as always, claiming 91 yards rushing on 19 attempts, and 2 touchdowns (1 receiving). Tony Hunt scored on 1 yard run in the 3rd. Booker added 9 yards, and Buckhalter had 5 yards.
O-Line:
The Eagles offensive line kept McNabb upright, and opened holes for Westrbook, There is little more that one could ask for. They did a good job, and receive a gold star next to each of the names.
Defense:
They looked marvelous. We held the Rams to 166 total yards, and only gave up 3 points, while recording 4 sacks. The secondary was batting passes down, and Steven Jackson was held to 40 yards rushing for the game. We got great play from every position on the field. Although we didn't have any turnovers (which has been a point of focus), we didn't need them. We stopped every Rams drive, before they even got started.
Summation:
The Eagles looked good on both sides of the ball yesterday. The Eagles attack was a balanced one. The Defense was aggressive. The Rams performance was lack-luster at best. The Eagles took them out of their game early, and they never made an attempt to get back in it either. We have got a big test coming next week. It's against our division rival Cowboys. We'll talk more on our Monday night showdown later.

Around the league:
The road to glory has just taken a turn through disasterville. What some saw as a dirty play, everyone saw as the end. Tom Brady's knee is the hot topic of today. Leaving the game, and not returning has got everyone buzzing. Waiting to hear the results of his MRI. If the injury is season ending, then a world of possibility could blossom forth. Losing the Patriots posterboy for the season could lead to missing the playoffs. What we know for certain is this: Matt Cassel isn't a backup quarterback. He's a backup's backup. If Brady's injury ends his season, Matt Cassel will still be on clipboard, and jock-strap duties. During the Football Night in America broadcast, Peter King talked about how devestating Tom Brady's injury was to the NFL!!! This gets my Ire. Yes, he's a great quarterback, posterboy for the NFL, and the leader of the Patriots. However, if Tom Brady is indeed done for the year, the NFL is not going to collapse. The world will not end.

I have a fever, and the only cure is. More Highlights. Last night Football Night in America became the show to watch. Why? Because, they have all the highlights. Profootballtalk.com compared Football Night in America with ESPN, and came to the conclusion that it was better, but needed more highlights. I wasn't all that impressed. I'll watch, because I want to see hightlights, but the show itself seems chaotic. There was a lot take in during the broadcast. The show just had too many people, in too many places on the same set for liking. Up top you had the line up of Keith Oberlman, Dan Patrick, Bob Costas, and sometimes Peter King. Then at a table below you had Jerome Bettis, Tiki Barber, and Chris Collinsworth as the mediator. Interesting note: Shawn Merriman played only 2 downs.

Jake Delhomme spent the summer under John Elway's tutelage, and subsequently mastered the 4th quarter comeback. Scoring the game winning touchdown as time expires, it doesn't get much better than that.

Marion Barber III bangs up ribs, in win over the Browns. This is a serious issue for a guy who's running style is that of bull. Although according to ESPN's sources, the ribs are not broken. He's got a full week to rest up for the Monday night's showdown with the Eagles. It would be to the Eagles benefit if Barber is limited or unable to play. That doesn't mean that the Cowboys running game will vanish. Rookie Felix Jones can step up, and keep their running game alive, and well.


That's it for now. Don't forget about tonight's Monday Night Double-Header.





GO BIRDS!!!