People are talking about the 80-yard march in the fourth quarter, by the Vince Young-led Eagles offense, but it was the Birds defense which shined most of all on Sunday night. They held a good Giants offense to 10 points while forcing a couple of turnovers.
Even more impressive than the numbers was the physical way they played. There was no doubt that the Eagles wanted this game more than the Giants.
Football is a game which is played best with emotion. That’s why a player has to prepare himself emotionally to excel. New York was ready to go through the motions but the Birds were ready for a war. I surely wasn’t ready for violent brand of football displayed by the Eagles defense.
“It was an opportunity to secure first place in our division, at home, in front of our fans”, Giants defensive tackle Chris Canty said after the game. “It was a great atmosphere. You couldn’t ask for a better evening to play football. We just went out there and didn’t execute. We didn’t match their intensity. We got punched in the mouth and we didn’t do anything about it.”
I sat there startled as the Eagles linebackers attacked the line of scrimmage and put their helmets under the chin of the ball carriers.
Their tackles were sure with their arms surrounding the running backs, a slight body lean and their legs driving the ball carrier backwards. They were playing game on the Giants side of the line of scrimmage by attacking the New York offensive line and playing downhill football.
On one play in the first half, strongside linebacker Akeem Jordan shot the gap on one play and hammered Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, then fell off of him. Jacobs tried to get his balance as diminutive rookie linebacker Brian Rolle ran through him with a ferocious shot which took him down.
I like the job Rolle did against the screens which the Giants tried to run. I’ve said this a number of times, the Eagles linebackers should expect screens and draws each game because it’s the way offenses try to nullify a strong pass rush. He might have a best instincts of the team’s linebackers, plus at 5’10” he can’t help but get leverage on the ball carriers.
Numerous times middle linebacker Jamar Chaney met Jacobs in the hole and stopped his momentum in an instant. He then got help from his teammates and they gang tackled Jacobs and took him down. Chaney came down with his second interception of the season and led the team with four solo tackles and two assists.
The Birds limited the Giants to 29 yards rushing and much of the credit for it has to go to the linebackers. They were getting off of blocks. Their tackling was much improved and at times picture perfect.
Defensive coordinator Juan Castillo says the Eagles linebackers played better because they’ve been working on their fundamentals, consistently. He says their improvement is directly correlated to their practice work. I would agree with him, but the emotion which they exhibited is something that has been missing. They played hard and were very physical. It should be that way for the rest of the season.
Consistency has to be the goal of this defense and especially the linebackers.
Good article G. Do you think this is our group the rest of the way? Jordan played instinctive to me and should not be replaced by Foukou at any point.
Nmandi played with some aggresion on some tackles.Forced fumble. Coleman laid the wood.
Pats will have tough sledding Sunday afternoon.
They played a good game but there was alot of dropped passes by the giants, There was couple plays with wide open guys and they just plan dropped it, that wont happen with brady and gronkowski, so they better get it fixed it they want to win on sunday
This has been going on for a while now
Dawk
You’re absolutely right! I couldn’t believe the number of dropped passes by the Giants. That’s usually our M.O.
Strange things always happen in these NFC match-ups. I think the Eagles may have played a part in the drops, because they were hitting, and the Giants may have been hearing footsteps. They were unusually tepid and awkward.
I had the Birds possibly losing to the Giants and definitely beating the Patriots. I felt that every player would be “up” for Brady & Co. I don’t know what to expect, now.
We’ll see what happens.
yes the Giants dropped passes. But thats attributed to lack of focus and the odds of the game.
Giants worried me more then the Patriots.bring that soft a$$ team to Philly.Bring on the Stetson man and his tight ends.
Offensive issues for the Birds…Pats have some nice linbackers.So lets get them iso’d on Shady and see how they can cover.
Vince Wilfork…he has to be doubled at some point.When they do this will the others be able to win there battle?
Dawkplex….put #24 on there tight ends? Sorta a tough call being that they have Hernandez and Grontkowski.
Pats coming off a short week with playing last evening and have to travel to Philly.. A couple thing things I noticed in last night’s game with the Pats
The Pats O/Line was getting pushed around and did not look very good in pass-protection vs the KC Chiefs who had 3 Sacks in the 1 1/2 quarters of play after coming into the game with 9 on the Season thus far…
The Pats did utilize Top Draft Pick OT Nate Solder (6’8″-335 lbs) as a Blocking TE,FB,HB and an extra blocker for the run game and pass protection..
Outside of WR Welker and the 2 TE’s Gronkowski & Hernandez
the Pats really have no deep threat, The key is matching up with their TE”s and I think LB K Clayton will see lots of action as a Cover LB but also think the Eagles need to put Asmo on one of them (they usually have Hernandez split out wide and have Gronkowski come from the normal TE positions) and the Eagles Safeties will need to play a strong game and key on theie TE’s
The Key to beating the Pats is to control their big play capability of their TE’s
I see DB J Hanson on WR Wellker which should be a good match-up
The Pats are going to get their share of points and the Eagles offense will need to make some and I expect them to run the ball more using this HB/TE/FB Nate Solder at 6-8″ 340 lbs as a lead blocker and try to kick out the LB’s on runs by their RB’s..
speaking of ‘drops’, the eagles secondary dropped a few coverages sunday night… they are lucking it didnt cost them like it did the first time we played the giants
Yeah well the Cardinals had the 28th passing D in the game, and look what they did to Us.. The key to this game is the Lb locking down the TE’S and the pressure on brady…We’ll see.. Dont get our hopes up. We are gettin better fellas..Most new coaches and players this year than any other team, thats they only thing we have that other teams dont..Lockout did hurt us more, trust. Reid has one more year after this one. Looks like hes starting to learn in my eyes. Lesean had 23 carries last night even when he didnt do anything the whole game until his last play..He stuck with him.. hes also had a 28 and 30 carry game..Oline is improving too.. Mudd and Washburn are just gonna get our guys better and help us draft better
Eagles need to address the following in 2012 Draft
DT,LB,Safety on Defense
WR,TE,OL & FB on Offense
2012 Draft is an excellent one for LB,QB,WR & DB postions ….
The OL/DL is not the strongest and top RB’s is a little thin too
CT….I agree. The danger of this game is Andy salivating over that decimated secondary and overall pass defense. He needs to forget all that. The way to beat Brady is to take the ball out of his hands. We want him on the field no more than 25 minutes tops. You never see NE lose 38-35. They lose like 24-17 by teams running the ball and pressuring Brady. If we go tit for tat who do you think will make the first mistake??? Think about it. Certainly not their HOF QB. Our turnover machine will be the one who screws up and throws the red zone pick that is the difference in the game. Or Brady will get it in the EZ and we won’t. Then we lose like 35-26 because we kept kicking FGs in the shoot out. You pressure him and limit his touches. That means lots of Shady and short passes from a three step drop.
paulman….I think they need to go after Michael Griffin (Titans) in FA to address Safety. You need a PB safety to win the SB these days and we don’t have time to roll the dice on a second rounder or wait for development. We need someone next year that we know can play right now. Next year is our last chance for a SB for a few years. Then we need to trade up and get best DT available. A big scary monster not a 302 pounder. I still don’t think Chaney will be a good enough MIKE to win a SB but they will not throw Chaney away and draft a MIKE. They would think that would be a waste of a pick because they already have someone “decent.” Decent is fine for OLB but not for MIKE. For example, Rolle is “good enough.” Fokou is a STer in the NFL not a starter. I would feel more comfortable with Clayton and just concede that he can’t tackle well or get off blocks but he prevents us from giving up 1200 yards a year to TEs. If he can cut that figure to less than 800, I don’t care about his tackling.
Paulman….I disagree that we need to address FB or O line unless it is on day three. We need to re-sign Mathis and we are fine with our starters. In fact we are actually pretty damn good with our starters. WR I would like to get a possession receiver in the second round to replace D Jack.
I like Safety Mark Barron (6-1 225 lbs) from the Univesity of the Alabama..
He’s the best all-around Safety in the 2012 Draft and will probably go anywhere from the 8th Selction to the 15th Selection and will be an impact player his first season.. Many were surprised he went back for his Senior Season this year since it was a weal Safety Class last year and many had him projected as a mid-late 1st Round pick if he came out last year.. This guy will be a stud for the next 8-10-12 Years barring an injury..
I agree jbird
1st 3 Rounds (over the first 2 days of Draft) – DT,LB & Safety & WR
4th thru 7th Rounds (day 3 of draft) – WR,OL,TE,FB
MAthis is an interesting case on whether to extend or not..
He’s been up and down and has played well on Pass-Protection but has made some flat out missed on running plays and especially on short-yardage situtaions.. King Dunlap is another interesting case and is a free-agent also who will cost a lot less than Mathis and Dunlap can also be a 3rd OT if Peters or Herremans would get injured.. I think they trade W Justice for a 4th Round pick to Seattle or Oakland in return
Mathis will be looking at 3 Year pretty big $$$ Deal and I think the Eagles will pass on him and re-sign Dunlap and see if last years Drafr pick Vandervelde is ready to step up and compete at LG ..
Paulman…That safety sounds good to me. Simple solution. Andy has to give up that 37-42 pick from Cards to move up and grab him. He gets too interested in MORE picks. Rather we get quality pick and stop hoarding multiple picks. Instead of getting a few really cool toys we get a bunch of cheap trinketts from the gum ball machine.
Paulman….you are not suggesting Dunlap at guard? You would lose all the credibility you have built up if you are serious.
Ummm Jbird
Over the past 3 years the Pats have lost games 34-31, 24-20, 25-17, 34-14, 28-14, 33-14, 35-34, 38-17, 34-27. There are lots of incidences when the other team aired it ourt and went “tit for tat” with them.
Thhis will be an interesting game. The Pats D can be exploited, especially by the pass. Seems to me this fits in to the Birds strength.
What happens if the mini-man comes out and craps the bed (again) against this porous pass D.
jbird – Paulman has built up credibility? what planet do you live on?
You could be right drummer, You know i saw the eagles fighting kicking and scratching, i was happy to see some fight from these guys…..FINALLY. Why are we talking about the draft??? Bottom line is we have Belicheat coming into our house were we have lost 6 or the 7 last home games. This time he dosent have our signals taped (like the superbowl), Maybe we can pull out a win. It will take everything we have to get this one. I circled this game on the calender at the beggining of the season. And for once can the eagles protect the house. Im not quite sure whats going on but loosing 6 out of the last 7 is just unexceptable.
And we still have 8 turnovers in the redzone, we lead the nfl. Have to fix that
That hurt Jbird and Schiller..
I really think that Vanderrvelde will compete for a LG spot and they can use Dunalp as both a G and OT who would be a lot less $$$ that Mathis and also saves you a Roster Spot… C’mon, Credibiltity, are you kidding me, Credibility… (in my best Jim Mora voice…ha ha …)
The Reason I have brought up the Draft in a couple of posts because no matter what happens the rest of this Season. LB & Safety are Top Priorities as well as more quality depth at DT,OL & WR … It’s never too early for Mock Drafts…
To Paulman – We would lucky if we somehow are in position to draft Barron. He is the only safety in the draft i would go after as the Eagles have 3 young promising safety’s that cannot be given up on yet. Jarrett, Allen and Coleman have shown sign of being really good and signs of inexperience. I think a LB in 1st round it key followed by a DT in the second rnd and maybe a DE in 2nd round as well. DT and DE are getting old.
we need several new LB’s. Vontaze Burfict would be ideal. Fokou and Jordan should not be getting this much time let alone starting in the NFL. they stink. period.
we need head hunters, an attitude and an Identity on D. No one is scared to come across the middle on us. we reincarnations of Seth Joyner, our FIRST version of Trot, Carlos Emmons, Wes Hopkins and Dirty waters… if only it were that easy… lol
So, let me get this straight…..
The middle linebacker which had success last year is actually playing well in his natural position?
Hmmmmmmmm
So, why did we move Chaney and start Casey (can’t play) Matthews in the middle again?
These LB’s are horrid! What exactly did they do? Rolle made a few tackles, big F^#@ing deal. That is what they are supposed to do. What plays, or turnovers did they exactly come up with? Answer, none. “Eagles Linebackers Had Their Best Game Of The Season.” I guess compared to the rest of the season, we’ll settle for mediocrity, than invisibility, HUH!? Give me a break! They are nauseating! All three are bad. Rolle is a smurf who gets pushed off of the ball half of the time, Chaney is a mediocre MLB, & Fokou is flat out horrifyingly bad! All of the backups belong in flag football.
Dcar, way to show you stupidity. Chaey had a big int. Classic example of you preferece to hate first, think…well never.
Nd dcar, fokou? Jordan started but I guess your hate distracted you from that too eh?
Don’t get your hopes up guys. Even if The Eagles beat New England…would it surprise anyone if they came out the following week and stunk up the joint?
But sticking with the game at hand watch New England run to the right all day against our defense.
The Eagles better start Parker at DE…if they start Babin, the Pats will bring that big #77 down on him the whole game and run to the right. They have to take the fight to the PATS like they did the Giants. Winnable game, the PATS secondary is like JV…
Watch for some Cullen Jenkins to play on running downs at DE Spot in place of Babin to counter that #77 Doubling down..They also need to bring the OLB’s right up to the Line of scrimmage on running downs to.. The Eagles shuold stuff this rushing attack of the PAts..
SONGS…..Beating New England and then taking Seattle lightly and losing would be the fitting end to this Eagles season. All year long they have lacked focus and have taken certain teams lightly like the Niners, Bears and Cards. Seattle plays hard even though they suck so they are not to be taken for granted on a short week after a cross country flight. That is exactly the kind of team that can bite you in the ass if you overlook them. It would be horrific and sad to have our hopes crushed like that after beating NE but it would not surprise me at all.
Who is thinking about Seattle or even the Dolphins games at this point..
Beat the Patriots first and then it will make the following game/week meaningful.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone..
Schill, go back in your cave, you troll! Jordan is a bum too. He was invisible, that’s why I didn’t see him, you d!ck! I’m not a hater @$$#@le!