With McNabb returning from a serious injury in the previous year, the Eagles delivered a real clunker in the season opener. The offense wasn’t sharp and it certainly didn’t offer a ton of reasons to be optimistic about the coming year.
No, I’m not talking about yesterday, I’m actually talking about 2003. The Eagles went to the NFC Championship game that year, despite looking like a Division 1AA college team in the opening game against Tampa Bay. My point is this: It’s Week 1, let’s not go crazy just yet.
It happens every year and not just with the Eagles. Much too much is made of Week 1 results in the NFL. Single-game numbers are extrapolated into entire season stats and the idiots on ESPN jump to a million different conclusions. And this is based on what? One game? I, like the rest of you, was not thrilled yesterday. But let’s take a look at both the good and the bad from the 16-13 loss to Green Bay.
What I liked:
-The defense was better than I thought it would be, but that’s not saying a ton with them playing against a sub-par Green Bay offense.
-The secondary was sharp, despite losing Lito Shepard. Joselio Hanson, Sheldon Brown and Quinton Mikell all made plays on the ball to disrupt the Packers’ passing game. I thought Sheldon was especially good.
-The defense tackled pretty well and didn’t allow many yards after the catch.
-David Akers was sharp. This is the part of the special teams that I thought would cost the Birds games this year. I still worry about it. The snap and the hold are crucial, and yesterday they did a good job.
-Jason Avant gets open.
-Kevin Curtis does a decent job stretching the defense. It’s not great, but he is able to get deep. In the 4th quarter he got behind the coverage, but McNabb floated it a little too far and out of bounds for him to make a play. If Donovan puts that ball a little more to the inside we aren’t talking about punt returners today.
What I didn’t like (this section will probably be longer than the previous section):
-What was the deal with the red-zone offense in the first quarter? Two plays in a row they throw a swing pass to Westbrook. Why is he even running that pass route? At least throw something in the end zone.
– What was up with the penalties early on? This is not a team of rookies I might add. Disgraceful display of poise and discipline.
-Offensive line wasn’t good enough. I know Aaron Kampman and Cullen Jenkins are good players coming off of the edge, but the guards seemed to be the ones with the problems. There were several holding penalties between Andrews and Herremans. You don’t hold someone because you’ve got them under control. I’ll cut them a break though because Andrews is just getting back and into a rhythm.
– I need someone to explain to me why the Eagles went to a total shotgun offense early in the 4th quarter of a tie game. Just run your offense! You would have thought they were down by two touchdowns with four minutes left to play.
-Other than Jason Avant, these WR’s couldn’t get open. Curtis made a couple of plays, but he wasn’t consistently getting separation. Yes, Donovan skipped a few balls in there, but even when he did, I noticed that guys like Reggie Brown were blanketed. If those balls were up, they were probably picked. I know this is total speculation and largely untrue, but I get the feeling that Reggie Brown seems disinterested.
-I didn’t see any problems whatsoever with the punt return game. Should be in good shape there.
-This offense never put fear into the Packers. Shots down field were few and far between and I never felt like any play could go to the house. That has to change. Moving the chains is great and a necessity, but where is the home run threat?
-I don’t think I can physically watch another Green Bay Packer game on TV again until Brett Favre retires. I think it’s in every football broadcaster’s contract that he has to kiss up to Favre over and over and over. I honestly can’t stand it anymore. He could run around, cover his eyes with one hand, spin around, and throw the ball blindly into the air for an interception and we still get, “oh that’s just Favre being a gunslinger. He’s just such a competitor.” No, he’s actually quite stupid some times.
Overall, I will say no, this was not the team I thought Eagles fans were getting for the 2007 season. But let’s mitigate our frustration and see how this thing plays out. When the Eagles beat the Bears in the 2001 playoffs, were you thinking about that painful loss to the Rams to open that season? After 4th and 26, was anyone still upset about the opening-night loss to the Bucs in 2003? As a matter of fact, the Pats took a 31-0 drubbing at the hands of the Bills the day before that game. I think they turned out ok that year.
micahw@feverpitchmedia.com
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