Maybe the Eagles thought they were going to carve up the Chicago Bears defense in the same manner that they disposed of the Cowboys, but the Bears were having it. The Birds showed up with very little fire for the big game. Chicago served them notice on the first drive of the game when took the ball on a long drive to the Eagles end zone for a 7-0 lead.
They took a 24-17 lead in the second half but couldn’t hold onto it. This wasn’t the first time they lost a second half lead this season. In fact, it’s been somewhat of a regular occurrence.
“I thought we had the energy, we just weren’t hitting and clicking”, Eagles head coach Andy Reid said afterward. “I don’t think it was a matter of energy. We just made too many mistakes.”
Every aspect of the Philadelphia Eagles came up short last night. The Eagles offense, defense, and special teams were all unable to get the job done when they needed step up.
The offense had numerous opportunities to put together drives to put the game away and to come back but they couldn’t get it done. There were too many dropped and errant passes. The Bears picked off Michael Vick in the first half when the Eagles had the football on Chicago’s twenty-three yard line. It was another blown opportunity for the Birds.
The game ended for all intents and purposes when on fourth down and ten, Michael Vick made a high throw to Jeremy Maclin, who 
had to reach up to catch the ball and lost his footing in the process.
Reid was asked afterward if the Eagles could with Vick playing a subpar game. Reid responded, “That’s kind of the way it is. It’s always been that way in this offense. That’s the way that it is in the National Football League with quarterbacks.”
The defense couldn’t get off the field on third down in key situations during the game. The Bears were 7 for 14 on third downs and many of those conversions came during a number of long Bears scoring drives which gave them the lead and allowed them to win the game.
The Eagles potent pass rush wasn’t able to bring jay Cutler down on, single time. The Bears ran at defensive end Jason Babin on the Eagles left side all game long with tremendous success. Chicago running back Matt Forte was the guy the Eagles were committed to stopping, but they had little success in doing so, as he carried the ball 24 times for 133 yards.
The Eagles three Pro Bowl cornerbacks all came up short in key situations. Asante Samuel was beaten for a go ahead touchdown by Earl Bennett in the second half. Unexplainably Samuel was playing well off of Bennett even though the ball was at the five-yard line. Hee was unable to get a hand on Bennett as he released for the scoring route.
Nmandi Asomugha was called for pass interference during a key drive in the fourth quarter. He was jamming the receiver well down field with the ball in the air. It’s a surefire way to get a penalty.
Finally, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was beaten by Bennett numerous times on third downs. He’s a very talented but undisciplined player. It’s amazing that a guy who is one of the fastest players in the league, is unable to accelerate and break up more passes. Too many times, he gives up on plays and shows a reluctance to attack ball carriers and tackle.
The Eagles special teams made some very costly errors. After Eagles linebacker Brian Rolle made a huge play just before the half when he stripped the ball from Bears running back Matt Forte and returned it for a touchdown, DeSean Jackson made an error to give that touchdown back.
Jackson fielded a punt on the Eagles ten-yard line and tried to return it. He was carrying the ball like a loaf of bread and one of the Bears got his hands on the football to knock it out and Chicago recovered the ball inside the Eagles ten yard line. Marion Barber was able to score a few plays later and it gave the Bears a 17-10 halftime lead.
The other costly special teams mistake occurred in the fourth quarter on a fake punt attempt when punter Chas Hunter was unable to get the ball to a wide open Colt Anderson. The Eagles were in the Bears territory and a good throw could have put them in position to regain the lead.
“You guys [the media] saw it”, Reid said. “[Colt Anderson] was uncovered. We tried to throw him the ball, but obviously it didn’t work. We’ll always try to stay aggressive.”
This was a crushing loss which when paired with the Giants dramatic win over the Patriots will make the Eagles’ goal of qualifying the playoffs very difficult.
For all the haters, you’ve just been justified. The bottom line is that we don’t have dominant players with a dominant mentality. This isn’t a team. This is a group of individuals. We have mediocre talent on the field and waiting in the wings, we have useless players. Casey Matthews the most obvious wasted pick is a useless body on the sidelines. Our first pick Trevor Laws is garbage. That guy gets no pressure whatsoever. We don’t draft talent. Thats the bottom line. You can’t win superbowls when you piss away your supposed mortal lock of a first round pick. Not to mention we don’t even draft our mortal locks, we drop back to acquire more picks. More picks of mediocrity. This team is not a team to become excited about.
One word “Agree”. Urlacher, Briggs, Peppers… that’s why we lost. Those 3 players willed their team to Victory and never gave up on ANY plays. Can we say that. The Bears ran sweeps right at Babin and the Wide 9 all day. The D-line put NO pressure on Cutler, and this defense has NO discipline. I’m done until Sunday at 4… Hopefully there will be better news. Arizona, Giants, Patriots…
Where are all the “drinkers?”
It’s not Kool-Aid. It’s the same thing used to make yellow snow.
If one daughters was hanging with the wrong person or crowd, I let them know and forbade them from doing so. Perhaps, my daughters saw me has a “hater” at the time, but they both now know that I was actually a “lover.” I love my daughters and wanted what was best for them.
The same holds true for the Eagles. Reid is a poor coach and he’s bad for this team. So, if you label me a hater, I understand. Like my daughters, in time, you’ll see (at least I hope you will).
Reid had the winning formula, but he just couldn’t stick with it.
The same was said about Mike Martz. With the success the Bears enjoyed running the ball early on, no one could figure why he would even call a pass. Eventually, he wised up and went back to the run, despite fumbles and negative yardage, he realized that the run was working more than it wasn’t working. In the process, he also kept his QB from getting rattled.
It sure is funny how winning can mask alot of problems.I read a couple of articles before this bears game how the defense had turned the corner and was playing so much better but I still never really saw them able to stop the run.Against the redskins they got ahead early and the redskins did not run the ball that much they were forced to pass and the redskins only tried running the ball 12 times for 28 yards(not counting qb scrambles) which was probably the best day the eagles d had versus the runs.Against dallas though demarco murray had 74 yards on only 8 carries and if dallas had not fallen behind so quickly and had to abandon the run (76 yards on 9 rushes)it seems like he could have easily put up 150 yards rushing against this eagles d.It seems like the only chance this team has to win is to get way ahead early and force the other team to abandon the run and throw so they can try to get pressure with the wide 9.With this defense though it may not always work because the defense does not seem to be consistent enough anyway.
drummer, you are officially my favorite poster on here. This is why I told all of the blind loyalists, not to puff their chests out with the last 2 weeks. Those games were misleading & were deceiving to everyone. They only hid & prolonged the inevitable. They aren’t a good team, & this coaching staff is bad.
I don’t know why the Eagles don’t go with a D/Line against strong running teams like the Bears,Giants,Jets..
I woould put C Jenkins at DE spot (in replacement of Babin and remember that Jenkins played mostly DE for the Packers in their 3-4 alignment)
Then Patterson/Landri at the DT position with Cole at his regualr DE spot on obvious running downs..Jenkins will not get after the QB as well, but he will hold the edge down and hold his ground as opposes to giving opposing teams huge running lanes to run thru like Babin Does..
If Babin played 25 Snaps a game in Passing Situations only, he would still have his 12-15 Sacks, but it’s the other 35 Snaps in which he actually hurts this Defense in my opinion….
Dcar and drummer,
regardless of what you 2 said about fans enjoying wins, don’t think for a moment that there isn’t major frustration now. I realize that people like yourselves are in heaven now because you can justify being pissed 24/7… with that being said, it was a terrible game plan and yet another 2nd half lead squandered because of ineptness…all of our DB’s look lost and we had NO PASH RUSH whatsoever…terrible!!!
Again,
I don’t think the game-plan was lacking, these players have to make plays and they are not.. Is it Washburn’s Fault that the DL can’t disengage from the Bears OL.. Is it Secondary Coach J Lynn’s fault that CB’s can’t stay with average Recivers adn make plays on the ball..
I do believe the Eagles had more success when blitzing and wished they would have blitzed a little more earlier in the game to keep Cutler from not getting into a nice rhythm..
Paulman,
IT IS the coaches fault when they can’t and don’t make adjustments during the course of a game. That includes personnel. If you can clearly see someone is not getting it done on the field, replace him. Yes it is if Washburn can see that what he is doing isn’t working and doesn’t adjust. They had NO sacks.
if your game plan doesn’t have a Plan A, B, or C, then it is lacking.
I agree about making adjustment, but sometimes players just have to beat their man across from you which Babin.COle, Grahm,Tapp did not do all game long..
Also the CB in Coverage couldn’t stay with Receivers like E Bennet,R Williams and J Knox.. who thinks this Eagles CB Corp can stay with the elite WR’s in the NFC like the PAckers,Saints,Falcons,Giants… Enough already with blaming the Coaches, the players are not performing consistentnly and as a unit at a high-level period..
it is a collective blame. Its the coaches fault and the players fault. Newsflash paulman, coaches (especially HEAD coaches) will always get the majority of the blame REGARDLESS of who’s fault it really is. It is foolish to just blame players because if they are allowed to constantly and consistently make mistakes and not live up to their potential, it is the coaches fault for constantly putting him out there.
this sealed it for me…. when they were up against their own goaline we had graham and someone else in at DE while babbib and cole sipped water on the sideline. Are you kidding me??
reed_richards
Sorry, but you can’t speak for me, and if you think you’re a mind reader, let me assure you that you read my mind incorrectly.
Yes. I’m in heaven, but not for the reasons you stated.
I’m in heaven, because my home team is about to rid itself of its current poor coach. I don’t believe Reid can ever win a Superbowl, and I’d like to see the Eagles win one.
Certainly, there are risks in bringing in someone new, but we shouldn’t allow fear of the unknown to keep us in a bad situation. We may not know what we’re getting, but we certainly know what we already have, and what we have is not good.
It would be so nice of you, reed_richards, if, in the future, you would post for yourself, and not for me. Thank you so much.
Paul
Another question.
Does technique play a part in one player beating the man lined across from him?
If so. . . well, I think you know where I’m going with this.
drummer,
whatever. I’m not going to feed you and go back and forth with you. Unlike yourself, I don’t tell real eagle fans how to enjoy victories and always try to rain on others’ happiness. You’re welcome and thank you too!
You win…..LMAO
Steve,
It was graham and tapp. I noticed that too. They didn’t come in until after they converted the FIRST 3rd and long on that drive. I don’t get that either.
reed
Please show me what I said about enjoying wins. I didn’t think so.
drummer,
again, you win… LMAO
if you say so..I just told you that I’m not going back and forth with you like 7th graders…I’ll leave that to the usual suspects…if you didn’t say it, then so be it…whatever floats your boat.. you be happy (or miserable) your way and I’ll do the same…
If you want to make up things, I suggest you exclude me, and I will be very happy. On the other hand, you make yourself look kinda silly.
Proper technique is defintely something that is coachable and should be stressed at every practice session..
When I watch CB Asmo, he has it all wrong, He stands in the face of the WR (which is good) but never looks at the QB, instead of pivoting and back-pedaling and running with the reciver, he turns his back and follows the WR all ove rbut is never aware of what’s happeneing behind him, when the ball is thrown, it could be a short pass to another receiver, RB or TE where you break from your coverage and go make a tackle.. He runs all over the field blindly…
Another Technique flaw I see is with DCR who runs well and is always right there in coverage, but for some reasdson seems content on letting the Reciver catch the ball and then takling instead of making a play on the ball,
I saw 2-3 times last nigh and all season long where if he dives,leaps,positions himself to deflect,possibly interscept or at least disrupt the receiver, he would be a whole lote mor succesful in defending the pass
Bottom line, the more I watch this Def Secondary, the less I like it.. I have never been a Samuel fan for he gives too much of a cushion and is poor in the Red-Zone which he continues to prove to me just about every game anymore.. He will make a big play here or there but when I look at consistent playuign, being physical, contributing and locking Receivers down whem it counts (3rd Downs and Red- Zone) I just don’t see it from him, never have and probably never will… I am not an Eagle hater, but I do Hate how they play the game Defensively and especially in the Secondary which was always the real strength of past Eagles Defense’s ,but not anymore and hasn’t been for the last 4-5 Years and I probably pay more attention to what is going on, or in this team’s case, which is not going on in the Secondary since I was a CB back in my playing days..
drummer,
WHATEVER…LMAO…
About Babin & Cole being out.. It wasn’t like they were doing much all game and in fact, I am not so sure many of you see the game and players for what they are really doing on the field during a game
Do you guys realize that Graham had 4 Tackles (1 for a loss) in his limited rolle which is more than what Cole & Babin had combined which was only 2 Tackles
Babin was absolutelty horrible last evening with Cole not far behind and combine that with a poor games by Asmo/DCR and Samuel, and this Defense hasn’t a prayer to stop anyone Offense
About Trent Cole, you can always tell when “Hunting Season” is about to begin, for his play and energy level really tapers off…
paulman,
Asante was a good 5-7 yards in the end zone on the TD pass his man caught.. Nnamdi took the inside route and left the flat wide open. there was apparently some mixup and DRC was absolutely terrible…
babin is useless against the run..
Okay, Paul
If you can pick up all of this, shouldn’t Reid (or someone on his staff) been able to see it before acquiring these guys?
It seems useless to continually blame players, position coaches, or anyone else when it’s the top man’s job to appoint and acquire.
I had my doubts about Vick in the beginning and those doubts increased at the end of last season and more so at the beginning of this season. However, after the Dallas game, I see that he can read defenses (at least somewhat) and he is patient enough to play a short game, something that was called into question last year.
Therefore, I am back to my original stance: In my opinion Reid sets his QBs up to fail. He did it to McNabb, Kolb and Vick.
there is no leadership on this team, from the coaches on down, that’s apparent when it was your #3 receiver that called for a team meeting, rolle tweeted that the team took the bears lightly, this team just doesn’t respond to Reid or Reid is not preparing the team, with all his other faults at least an Andy Reid team was prepared to play, not any longer, and this team plays more like some NBA team, not a football team, just a bad football team and their record proves it.
Paul
It should probably be taken into consideration that the season is half over and Graham is fresh.
Reed
Wasn’t Babin all-pro last year?
Its not the offenses fault totally.. i feel u gotta put this one on the defense. .even tho we still had another chance to win it at the end
drummer,
yes he was. he’s a one trick pony. he doesn’t play the run well and teams that are good run teams just do what the bears did last night, take himself right out of the play. he was the same way last year and when he was here before.
At least we have anpther game this sunday.. it is another must win game.. and they gotta beat the giants the following week.. but this eaglr team really knows how to shoot themselves in the foot every time
A collective team effort in this one Jon and there should be no debate about this.. ,
#1) Eagles Defense defintitely let Cutler and his Receivers get into a nice rhtym from the get go..(poor play from Babin,Cole,Asmo,Samuel all game long)
#2) Eagles Offense, QB Vick and his Receivers never got into a rhythm
#3) Eagles Special Teams with 2 huge gaffes which also contributed to the loss (D-Jax’s fumble and the Noodle arm of Punter Henry on the fake punt attempt)
What is really concerning when you think about it is if you take away RB’s outstanding Contributions this Seaons in their Wins, This Eagle team could have only 1 Win as of now and I am serious.. This team is reeling..
This defense is still having serious complications with stopping the run consistently.. forte ran wild.. and cutler threw all over the field… that should of never happened… this is a mess right now.. im not gonna count these guys out but they have alot of work ahead of them…
wow it was all good just a week ago…… LMAO
It was only good a week ago for the Cowboys gave up after the 1st Quarter of Play and didn’t come to play.. .
Up above, I forgot to post RB L McCoy’s contribtuion to this 2011 Eagle Team (McCoy basically won the Rams/Cowboy games mostly by himself) take him away and this Eagle team would have like 1 Win..which is inexcusable with the talents of Vick,D-Jax/Maclin/Smith)
Asante is just playing for his stats it seems… no cb ive seen tries to play routes while in tight spaces like the endzone like asante does.. what was he thinking? U cant do that while in the endzone.. hes given up so many big plays this yr… i was kind of happy when he wasnt in the game bc i thought that now they could play the way they really want to and thats man up on all recievers play press coverage.. until i saw them put hanson on that side as the primary #1 corner instead of putting nnamdi over there.. iam very fustrated with this team inconsistencies.. they have so much potential but arent living up to any of it.. im beginning to think that this defense is waaay too simple, not exotic coverages or blitzes.. i think a pop warner qb could throw on this defense along with a pop warner rb… this is crazy…
The first drive of this game showed me all I needed to know about the outcome of that game. Look, I am usually the first one to kill Reid and I agree he’s a big part of the problem here. However, once again you have a game where players phoned it in. Vick was not at his best. A few times receivers were overthrown. As was mentioned on the one play he had all day to throw and threw an interception. This offense which was unstoppable and explosive for the last 2 weeks looked lethargic last night. Don’t even get me started on the Defense. They made Cutler look like a Hall of Famer QB. The players who have been very vocal in the media claim that they want to play their best and defend Reid. Well judging by their play last night It looks to me like they could care less.
Nnamdi hasnt looked good either.. i think hes still trying to figure this defense out but DRC doesnt even resemble a cb in the national footbal league.. im very disappointed in his play.. hes almost walking on some plays.. they have him playing in the slot which can be a challenge but for goodness sakes were in week 10 now they should not be playing this poorly.. there is no desire, no fire, no energy, or fight in this team right now… people talking sb team im not sure if there even a playoff team.. i mean they could sneak in at the end but what type of damage can they do? Im the biggest fan you ll meet and try to remain positive but you have to be realistic and reasonable.. they look the same as they did last yr.. maybe a lil worst… there getting beat not only on the ground but also thru the air.. this is a serious problem.. guys need to take a look in the mirror n see whether they still have a heart..
I agree paul
R_R, trust me, I am not enjoying any of this, one bit. This team pi$$e$ me off, probably more than anybody. I don’t want them to loose to prove I was right. I already knew I was right in my opinions & in my assessments of this team, FO & staff. I still want them to win. This is sickening & kills me, that this year is shot already, & Sunday is just Sunday now. I’ll still watch, but the reality is they will miss the playoffs, & this could end up being the worst year of the Reid tenure. The only good thing out of this is, hopefully Reid & his cronies get the ax.