Finally, a close game against the Bears and the Eagles come out on the winning end.¬† The defense blew it in 2007 on a long drive with little time and no timeouts for a Bears win.¬† Last year, the Eagles (again) couldn’t get a yard when they needed it.¬† Sunday night, they overcame some relatively poor play and found a way to win.
So, let’s look at the game:
What I liked…
-Donovan was very sharp when he had time.¬† 23/32 for 244 yards, 2 TD’s and a pick.¬† Just thought this would be a good time to bring this up.¬† There were several people in the media that suggested the Eagles should be calling Denver to inquire about Cutler when all that noise was going down out there.¬† I don’t think Cutler is as bad as he played last night, but I’ve never been real high on him.¬† I think his stats were misleading in Denver (awful defense, always in shootouts or playing from behind) and he seems like a terrible leader.¬† He always has that stupid, dufus look on his face and he likes to yell at people when he’s the¬† one that just threw his 10th pick of the game.¬† Just saying.¬† People need to realize that finding a franchise QB ain’t easy and Donovan has been wonderful.¬† Perfect?¬† Of course not.¬† But would you be happy if you were Lovie Smith right now and you had to sit and watch your two first-round picks overthrow receiver after receiver because he knows that if he doesn’t, he’ll probably throw 5 INT’s?¬† I wouldn’t.
-Good job, Andy Reid.¬† If we rag on you for not running the ball and wasting timeouts, I should at least acknowledge when you don’t (then again, this could be rewarding someone for doing what they are supposed to do.¬† Like Chris Rock said of people who brag about paying their bills.¬† “You’re supposed to!”).¬† In a tight game, it was nice to see that Reid had his timeouts saved up in case they needed them.¬† 32 passes and 30 runs?¬† That’s more like it.¬†
-Brent Celek is so reliable.¬† And did you see?!¬† That was an Eagles tight end actually blocking on McCoy’s game-winning TD run!
-Jason Avant continues to impress.¬† Could you imagine if he could actually run?¬† He’d be an elite receiver in the league.¬†
-I complained about Maclin earlier this season.¬† I said that I just had not seen anything.¬† No flashes of this or that.¬† It concerned me.¬† But he just gets better every week.¬† He looks more and more comfortable out there and Donovan’s confidence in him grows.¬† The Eagles have a sweet pair of starting WR’s….for once.¬†¬†
-I’ve been a Peanut Tillman fan for years.¬† He’s big, he’s physical.¬† Anyone remember him ripping that ball out of Randy Moss’s hands in the end zone several years ago while Moss was with Minnesota?¬† If he was around the ball carrier last night, look out.¬† He was knocking it all over the field.
-DeSean is DeSean.¬† I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I am blown away by the lack of effort with which he runs.¬† He has the calm of someone sitting on their couch as he blazes by defenders.¬† Knock on wood, but I am also impressed that he stays on the field.¬† Many thought he’d be a walking injury report because of his small size.¬†
-Winston Justice does a pretty nice job.¬† Turns out he’s not the complete waste of space that everyone thought.
-Huge play from Tracy White.  Well done.  
-You too, Antonio Dixon.  You were very Dikembe Mutombo-esque in showing Robbie Gould what you thought of his kick. 
-I have to give a nod to Sheldon Brown.  Playing a speed position with a partially torn hamstring is not easy.  And then Samuel went out and Brown became that much more important.  These corners are decimated. 
…and not so much…
-I don’t care about the praise for Jason Peters playing injured.¬† If you aren’t healthy enough to handle Alex Brown, then please let someone else do it.¬† I saw him get abused quite a bit last night.¬† This guy just doesn’t impress me.¬†
-It’s not just Peters.¬† This offensive line is not good enough right now.¬† Did anyone else notice how skittish McNabb was last week against the Chargers?¬† Even when he had time he couldn’t wait to get rid of the ball.¬† I don’t think he trusts the guys up front.¬† A big part of the problem is they are still getting continuity.¬† I understand that, but until then, they are giving up jailbreaks.
-Are we close to being done with Sav Rocca?¬† He’s not hitting the ball well and his painfully slow release makes him a threat to be blocked.¬† Surprised more teams don’t sell out and go after him.
-I know I’m done with Chris Gocong as a linebacker.¬† And I’m not blaming him, it’s not his position.¬† He can’t cover.¬† I know I’m not the only one who notices this.¬† Let him put his hand down and rush the passer.¬† That’s why you drafted him!
-Yes, the Eagles won and that’s very important for this young team.¬† But man, they have a ways to go.¬† Still some poor football being played.
-I love how McCoy committs what could have been a very costly fumble, and then a couple series later he’s holding the ball out again.¬† Someone needs to call Tom Coughlin and teach this kid how to hold the ball.¬† Two things keep young running backs off the field.¬† Missing blitz pickup and fumbling.¬† He’s kind of struggling with both.¬† He’ll learn, but the Eagles don’t really have much choice with him right now.¬† He’s made some nice plays so far, but he needs to tuck the rock away.
-Good news, Eagles Fans!¬† Michael Vick can’t run anymore.¬† Big play or not, he clearly does not have the speed or the moves that he once had.¬†
-Matt Forte is not right.  He looks like a shell of the 2008 version.
-I’m not a fan of Bears offensive coordinator Ron Turner at all.¬† But it’s tough to hang this one on him when Cutler was so awful.¬† If Cutler doesn’t get it together, this is a mistake that will set the Bears back at least three years.¬†
Washington is next.¬† The Birds have to take care of business with what looks like an awful Redskins team.¬† They will be without Portis and Betts too.¬† Rock Cartwright will probably get the start.¬† They were dreadful in Dallas yesterday (and the Cowboys shouldn’t be doing any bragging either).¬† This is a very winnable division, but the Eagles are going to have to tighten up their play big time.¬†
