The first half of the Eagles season has been one in which surprises have taken center stage. These weren’t just surprises, these were shocks.
Before the season, who would have predicted that Michael Vick and not Kevin Kolb would be the guy on the team with a quarterback rating over 100 and the team’s starting signal caller.
The entire off season had been dominated by the trading of Donovan McNabb and the elevation of Kolb to the starting quarterback position. This season was supposed to be all about development of Kolb.
During the pre-season Kolb’s play didn’t go forward it went backwards. He struggled during the preseason and he played horribly in the season’s first game.
This obviously created doubts in Reid’s mind. He had to be thinking about all of the former NFL head coaches who were fired because they married themselves to the wrong quarterbacks. Behind the scenes, Big Red and his entire staff were starting to sweat.
Was Kolb going to be able to turn things around or were they all doomed?
With ominous dark clouds overhead Reid saw his answer appear as Michael Vick brought the Birds back in the battle with the Packers. Green Bay still won the game, but Vick showed an ability to run the offense that we had never seen before.
His transition into a pocket passer stunned not only the Eagles but the entire NFL. His development had been so amazing, that his play forced Reid to name him the starter.
On the defensive side of the ball, there’s been another shocking development which hasn’t gotten very much publicity.
Do you remember how the Eagles were pushed around by the Washington Redskins? At the beginning of the game, they were bullied upfront as the Redskins running backs ran the ball down their throats.
With the game up for grabs at the end, the Redskins again bullied the Eagles. They ran the ball down their throats as valuable seconds ticked off the clock.
The prospects didn’t look good for the Birds in the upcoming weeks with Frank Gore, Michael Turner and Chris Johnson on schedule in successive weeks.
Early in the San Francisco game, starting defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley went down with an injury, so it forced the Birds to put Antonio Dixon in the lineup.
The backup defensive tackle went in and immediately made an impact. In three games, he has played better football than both, Bunkley and the other starting defensive tackle, Mike Patterson.
The big guy has not only kept the offensive linemen off of the linebackers, numerous times, he’s driven them into the backfield and given the running backs no where to go. How do you explain a defensive tackle almost leading the team in tackles?
He has not only been the main reason for the improvement of the run defense, but he’s also shown Patterson and Bunkley that you can stop the run and rush the passer. Dixon has contributed a sack in both of his starts.
Now that all of the other players have seen what Dixon has done, Reid can’t put him back on the bench. He’s got to make room for this young man to play.
and to think we r only 7 games in lol
probably a few more surprises in store for us
Yeah PW, I hope with Dick Jauron being elevated to the d coordinator.
There’s a guy by the name of Wade Philips that will be available next off season and Reid better scoop him up immediately. He might not be a good head coach buit is still considered on e of the best D coorinators in the game today. Put Sean Mcd back with the secondary.
A couple of more pleasant surprises for the Eagles so far this Season
C McGlynn and RG MJG had played pretty well overall (better than I thought they would)
FB Schmitt has also stepped in and it doesn’t he or the Offense has missed a beat at FB with him
in there…
On defense I would say LB Fokou has played very well so far as has S Mickell
Disappointments to me so far
Offensively – J Peters continues to be an enigma, when watching him, he looks like beast on some plays and then he looks like he doesn’t care on other plays..just way to inconsistent to be counted on in my opinion and definitely not a legitmate Pro-Bowl player worth his Salary
B Celek has regressed this year, he looks a 1/2 step slower and has dropped a lot of easy,catchable passes, and his blocking has really been poor after he made strides in that area last season..
Defensivley – Bunkley/Patterson continue to disappoint, Sims has improved the last couple of games after a slow start.. Graham,Tapp,Laws and Allen have all looked good at times,but again need to be more consistent week in and week out. Hobbs started out well, but appears to be the weak-link in the Secondary as the season progresses..
Special teams — Rocca has look very good all season so far and J Colvin has been a pleasant surprise and has made some nice returns (even though he fumbled last week) and I see him as a
potential Nickle back in the Secondary down the road
Great call, G!
Dixon seems to have made quite an impact.
I’d have to add LeSean McCoy to this discussion. I expected to see improvement from last year, but not like this. Last season, he appeared to be only a shadow of the player Westbrook once was, but he has shown to be a more-than-capable replacement.
And I certainly didn’t expect this kind of production after his injury.
PM
I agree. There have been a number of surprises – Schmitt and Cooper come to mind.
Songs
You and this Wade Phillips thing! LOL! I’m not saying that he’s not everything you say. I just find it funny that you’re promoting someone who is presently the head coach of another team. Suppose Dallas decides to demote him to coordinator.
I definitely want to see WR Cooper on the field more and more passes thrown his way..
The concussion set him back a couple of weeks, but I think he can have a big impact down the stretch
and epecially use his size versus the NFC Divisional Teams and other physical Defenses that are coming up
I think Wade will be buried under the Cowboy Star at the 50 yard line and J Jones Stadium after this season is over..
Next year, people will be saying, “Hey whatever happened to Wade Phillips, we haven’t seen of heard from him”
Put Mike “No Push” Patterson on the bench. Send Ellis Hobbs a copy of Air Alert plyometrics dvd.
good 1 drum
schmitt has def surprised me
he’s been balln
id like to see him get a few carries this week we havent seen this part of his game yet
perfect team to do it on the colts
throw schmitt a few bones givem 4 5 carries and he will help wear down that colts d line
My apologies. Give Ellis Hobbs a one way plane ticket gehenna.
I do think new RB J Harrison will be a please surprise too, He’s a shifty running with some speed and a little more power than he looks, he also catches the ball very well and would be a good change of pace and give McCoy a ret from time to time.. I am not so sure about Harrison’s blocking ability which is an area that McCoy has improved dramatically
Wade Phillips is a Bum just like his old man…
PM, I would agree about Harrison I just need to see him on the field first. But if he’s like anything like he was last year with the Browns it could go down as one of the best trades the Eagles made in a long time.
bsm, I’d give Hobbs a one way Greyhound ticket to the CFL if they’d even want him. Plane tix are expensive…
I agree WWW,
I am hoping he’s that decent/complete 2nd RB to complement McCoy that the Eagles Need to make a serious Playoff run. McCoy is having a nice season but I still get concerned on him wearing down or getting injured as the season progresses
Well put as usual G. Also hope that Harrison can add value. Frankly the Birds gave up nothing for him, so he is a bonus if he gains a yard. I’m a little disappointed in Allen. Yea he has some picks, and yea he is a rookie, but he seems like a corner trying to play safety from a size standpoint. Course if he were quicker, he’d probably be a corner.