Eagles Defense Barely Gets Job Done, But Loses Bradley & Graham In The Process

I commend the Eagles defense for the job they did when the Birds fell behind in the second half.  They forced Dallas into two three and outs, they set up the offense in great field position by picking off a pass, but this defense must play better.  They’re allowing too many points and they continue to perform awfully in the red zone.

Allowing twenty-seven points to a banged up Cowboys team is too much.  There was a good reason that Andy Reid was so jubilant after LeSean McCoy gained a first down to stop Dallas from getting the football back.

Eagles middle linebacker Stewart Bradley sustained what will likely be a season-ending injury.  He dislocated his elbow and will have an MRI on it today.  Rookie Jamar Chaney stepped in and did a decent job for the Birds.  The youngster was in the proper position most of the night.

Rookie defensive end Brandon Graham hurt his knee and is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks of action.

Let me also give the defense a pat on the back for the tremendous job they did against the Cowboys running game.  Dallas had run for nearly 400 yards in their last two games, but Felix Jones and Tashard Choice were limited to a total of 57 yards rushing.

This forced Dallas to throw the football more than they wanted to do and it denied them the opportunity to control the ball and control the game.  Big Antonio Dixon and Brodrick Bunkley made major impacts in the middle

On the downside, the Cowboys got into the end zone two out of the three times that they got in the red zone.  It seems that the Eagles defense has to stop a team from getting to the red zone or else.  This is the one weakness that could end up taking this team down.

Dimitri Patterson was in great position on the interception in the second half.  He was lined up in an outside technique as Roy Williams ran an out route.  Jon Kitna foolishly threw the ball to the out, despite the fact that Patterson was sitting outside and waiting on it.

Rookie safety Nate Allen’s tackling is getting worse in the open field rather than better.  He looked awful on the second touchdown pass to Cowboys tight end Jason Witten.  The rookie wasn’t even able to keep his feet on the play.  He fell to the ground and allowed the tight end to go into the end zone standing up.

I thought Quintin Mikell played well and made some key tackles that prevented potential big plays.  He came down with an interception, which stopped a Cowboys drive.

Trent Cole didn’t get any respect from the refs last night.  He was nearly undressed a couple of times by holds, yet nothing was called.  On one play, Cole’s face mask was grabbed but there were no flags thrown.

Is there a fake that Ernie Sims won’t fall for?  Sims does a good job of attacking running plays but he seems to always bite on fakes and get caught out of position.