Dallass sucks

The Eagles completed one of their most memorable seasons and their dramatic "worst to first" turnaround by defeating the eerily perfectly mediocre Dallass Cowboys Sunday night. The Cowboys are 136-136 since 1997 and finished 8-8 for 3rd straight season, losing the final game and the division to the Giants, the Washington team, and now the Eagles - a trifecta of sucking. It gives me joy.

As for the game, it was much closer than it should have been because the Eagles did not play their best game while Dallass did. The Eagles were dominated at times and lost the battle at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Foles was under pressure almost all game from a Dallass defensive line that often only rushed 4 while Orton went untouched despite numerous Eagles blitzes. The Dallass secondary that was shredded by everyone held up for the most part for the second time this year. And Dallass even stopped the Eagles on 4th and goal from a foot out.

But despite all of that the Eagles won, and the main reason was the defense. They bent, but for the most part did not break. In the first half the Kendricks' created turnovers led to 10 points. In the second half when the offense was sputtering they came up with huge stops. After Foles fumbled on the 20 they held Dallass to a field goal. After the offense failed on fourth down at the foot line and Dallass started to drive the length of the field, Connor Barwin batted down his 7th pass of the year to stop a Dallass 4th down conversion attempt - the offense then drove for a TD. When they gave up a potential backbreaking TD on a 4th and 8 and Dallass could tie with a successful 2 point conversion, they stayed focused and Williams batted down the pass. And at the end of the game where all the Cowboys needed was 30 or so yards to attempt a game winning field goal, the spirit of Tony Romo descended on Kyle Orton and Boykin made a game saving interception to seal the game.

Special teams also did its job. Henery nailed his field goal and put the kickoffs deep into the endzone thwarting the Cowboys dangerous return game. And Donnie Jones again came up huge by booming a punt at the end of the game and changing field position. And all coverage for the most part was good.

Much like the season, at certain times certain units (and that includes the coaches) would fail, but others would then pick up the slack. Many individuals contributed to the win with huge individual plays, but the team working as a whole unit won the game and the division and put the Eagles in the playoffs.

Other notes:

• The main reason the Eagles have completely turned everything around in a single season is turnovers. Last year they were a -24 in takeaways, this year they finished a +12. McCoy lost just 1 fumble all year and Foles set an NFL record for best TD to interception ratio in single season with 27 TDs to 2 interceptions.
• Congratulations to Foles for being the best rated passer in the NFL.
• Congratulation to McCoy for winning the rushing title and breaking Wilbert Montgomery's records. Woooooo!
• Defensive 3 stars: Cary Williams, Kendricks, Boykin.
• Offensive 3 stars: Avant, Celek, McCoy.
• Eagles almost lost to the guy that got benched for Tim Tebow.
• I will always complain about it forever - stop getting cute and calling stupid gimmick plays, especially with first a goal at the 6. It will always be stupid, even if it occasionally works. You wasted a down and cost a TD.
• I don't mind going for it so much, just don't QB sneak it when Dallass knows it is coming. The linebacker jumped over the line and landed on Foles back at the snap. It had no chance.
• Despite that drive failing, it exhausted the Cowboys defense and next drive the Eagles ran the ball "down their throats" all the way to the endzone.
• Cowboys were holding and grabbing receiver's jerseys all game and not one call. The worst and most obvious offense was the 3rd down before the 2 minute warning where replays showed Coopers jersey being tugged and extended 2 feet behind him.
• But Michaels and Collingsworth decided to get excited about the clock error and bogus delay of game penalty that Dallass got for their single penalty all game.
• I hate the Eagles stupid penalties.
• Happy New Year. Dallass still sucks.

Comments

Eagles bear down

Sorry for the writeup delays. I have guests visiting for the holidays...

After the horrible semi-professional football team from Washington couldn't hold a 9 point 4th quarter lead or stop the chokingest QB from converting a 4th and goal from the 12, the Eagles didn't have that much to play for vs. Chicago. The Bears though did since they could have clinched their division if they won this game. What happened though was a reversal of what you would have expected considering the stakes, since what happened was a complete beatdown of the Bears.

Eagles kicked off, Bears 3 and out followed by a terrible punt. Eagles TD by Cooper a few plays later. Eagles kickoff again and Hester is stripped. A few plays later, Eagles touchdown by McCoy. Eagles kick off again and Bears 3 and out again, Bears punt. A few plays later, an Eagles touchdown by Celek. And the first quarter wasn't even over. The second quarter wasn't as epic as the first, but at the half it was 24-3.

Unlike other games where the Eagles got up really big, they actually kept pouring it on this time. The next onslaught began with a safety courtesy of Cedric Thorton. After the free kick, which was a live ball and was recovered by Cooper, the Eagles scored another touchdown by McCoy via a spin-o-rama move at the line of scrimmage. The Bears managed their only touchdown of the game after a Brent Celek fumble (which was the only thing that went wrong for the Eagles besides a terrible spot by the refs that gifted the Bears 3 points at the end of the first half). The Eagles responded with a drive and a touchdown thanks to a 10 yard run by Polk. Then the next Bears possession ended with a terrible pass by Cutler that gave Boykin an easy pick 6. Cutler was done and the Eagles put in their backups as well to run out the clock. But you can't run out the clock on the Bears because their run defense is so terrible. So it was Bryce Brown's turn to run in a touchdown from 65 yards. Final score: 54-11.

Other notes:

• Everything went right for the Eagles and nothing went right for the Bears.
• Foles was 84% accurate with only 4 incomplete passes. I'm going by memory, but I think 3 of those were throwaways.
• The refs suck as always.
• Kelly challenged a play that was supposed to be automatically reviewed and lost a timeout, but it sure didn't appear the refs were going to bother reviewing it. After all, they didn't automatically review the awful spot at the end of the half.
• Bears hadn't given up many sacks all year and the Eagles got 5, 3 by Trent Cole.
• Bears run defense was as awful as advertised.
• Dallass sucks, Merry Xmas.

Blowmentum

Many people feared this was a "trap game" but then 99% of the "experts" and beat writers and talk show hosts tamped that fear down and predicted a blowout win for the Eagles. After all, no Adrian Peterson, no Toby Gerhart, Matt Cassel is the qb and half the Vikings secondary is hurt. What could go wrong? Well, this is the Philadelphia Eagles whose history is mostly of things going wrong and big failures vs. inferior opponents.

First, this is not what lost this game - the pooch kickoffs and not converting the 4th down on their own 23. What lost the game was the Eagles defense. The Vikings scored on every first half possession but their first when the kicker missed a 55 yard field goal. The Vikings finally punted for the first time on their second possession of the third quarter. And then they punted again once in the 4th quarter. All of the Vikings other drives ended with scores except one that ended with an interception and that's why they scored 48 points including TWENTY-ONE in the 4th quarter. Pathetic.

Meanwhile, the Eagles offense was either blazing down the field for a score or going three and out. There weren't any drives that got a couple first downs and then punt. There was one drive that ended in an interception, another that ended with a failed 4th down conversion (a 4 and out), and the last that ended the game. The offense was just very inconsistent and they got field goals instead of touchdowns too many times in the redzone. After getting to within 5 points late in the third, they couldn't keep up with the Vikings offense and only scored a touchdown in the fourth. Kelly called a pass-happy, Reidesque balance of plays and foolishly kept the ball out of McCoy's hands. However as wrong as things felt watching the offense, Foles did throw for 428 yards and 3 touchdowns and the offense did score 30 points in the loss.

Other notes:

• I like that the Ragnar the Viking is a fat slob like Hagar the Horrible instead of some Thor look-alike.
• Eagles committed way too many stupid penalties. The dumbest was Foles totally unnecessary comeback block that negated a touchdown.
• The refs were terrible as always, but this time not in the Eagles favor. The worst call was the pass interference on Fletcher in the endzone. Then later in the game he got another when the ball was 10 yards away. Another terrible one was the unnecessary roughness on Chung for tackling a guy.
• On the other hand, the refs one defensive holding and offensive holding calls were on a punt (and they offset). Somehow I think that's impossible there were no holds the entire game.
• One last note on NFL officiating in general: This is the modern NFL - throw ball up for grabs, have receiver flail and gesticulate, wait for the flag. Nevermind no play on the ball was actually possible.
• Eagles had too many drops early in the game. Foles also missed some wide open receivers.
• Immediately after the failed 4th down conversion, the Vikings only managed a field goal and the Eagles offense scored touchdowns on its next 2 possessions. So someone needs to explain to me why that was such a disaster.
• At least the Eagles didn't blow a 23 point lead.

Comments

Snowmentum

In a game played in conditions that I'm sure made Ed Rendell happy because it turns boys into men and men into ubermen and apparently the Eagles from playoff pretenders into Super Bowl contenders; judging by the calls to sportstalk radio. But it didn't look that way for 2/3rds of the game.

The Eagles were shut out again for the 3rd time this season in the first half and did nothing positive until their final drive of the half which then ended with a 4th down incompletion in the endzone. Foles QB rating for the half was 10.4 and the running game was doing next to nothing and looked hopeless. I did not think the Eagles would score over 10 points. The Lions meanwhile were moving the ball but coughed it up twice deep in Eagles territory thanks to the Eagles weather-assisted strips. And then midway through the third quarter the Lions returned a punt for the touchdown after another Eagles 3 and out to go up 14-0. And that lead looked like 40-0 because of the conditions and the Eagles inability to do anything. But then on the next series they woke up.

It looked like Kelly and Foles decided to stop being cautious and to just let the ball rip. First a nice non-floating pass to Jackson got a first down. Then the next play was a bomb to Cooper who made a great catch for a 44 yard gain. Then that was followed by a 19 yard TD to Jackson in the back of the endzone that might have been intended for Cooper.

When the Eagles got the ball back they got a big ref assist via a bogus roughing the passer call which was followed 2 plays later by a great 40 yard touchdown run by McCoy and a successful 2 point conversion which was also ref assisted. The momentum had turned, maybe.

The kickoff was returned for another touchdown and the Eagles were down again. But the Lions got the extra point, the only attempted kick of the game, blocked. So momentum was in the balance.

The Eagles just fed the ball to McCoy again on the next series and he ripped off another long run for another touchdown. This was followed by a successful 2 point conversion thanks to a great catch by Cooper. The Eagles were now ahead 22-20.

The defense continued to make stops and the Eagles continued to run the ball with McCoy, Brown and even Foles getting big gains. This drive was finished with a 4th down QB sneak from the 1 when the offensive line just snowplowed Detroit out of the way.

Detroit did respond but then bumbled their way into another turnover. The Eagles recovered and this time it was Polk running one right up the middle for a 38 yard touchdown.

The Eagles could have scored again but Celek downed himself at the 10 instead of walking into the endzone and the Eagles ran out the clock to the cheers of the non-wussy fans that still filled the stadium. Final score was 34-20.

Other notes:

• I predict McCoy is the NFC offensive player of the week. If not, he still has the most rushing yards by an Eagle record now with 217.
• Kelly's Reid call of the game was the stupid pitch to Jackson that lost 10 yards.
• The Eagles only had 1 penalty the entire game, a false start. The Lions killed themselves with 9 for 48 yards.
• The Lions also killed themselves with fumbles. The Lions are stupid.
• I guess Kelly made some good adjustments at the half as the Eagles outgained the Lions 388-88. But I still don't understand how they could go from not getting any push at the line and doing nothing to opening up big holes and sealing off the edges. Could it really be the shoes?
• All the fans cheering the blocked extra point return need to learn some basic rules. You are embarrassing.
• The defense only allowed 8 points and shut down Megabust entirely in the second half. The Lions run game was also nullified after some early success. More good adjustments.
• The refs helped the Eagles again and there were no make up calls later. The even up calls will eventually come though. It is inevitable.
• Go Bears. Dallass sucks.

Comments

A win, but it feels cheap

For the second game in a row the Eagles offense scored 17 points in the first half and took the kickoff after the half right down the field to get to 24 points and then did almost nothing the rest of the game while the defense held on for dear life. The Eagles had an assist from the refs who made several ticky-tack calls in the Eagles favor. Of course they weren't all in the Eagles favor as a DeSean Jackson punt return was nullified by a weak as weak can get holding call on Coleman. Also assisting the Eagles were some terrible Palmer throws that became easy interceptions. In the end Palmer turned it over enough, the Eagles scored just enough, the defense held on just enough, the refs made just enough bad calls and Donnie Jones punted the ball inside the 10 just enough to get the Eagles a 24-21 win.

Other notes

• Kelly once again could not call a complete game as the offense went into the second half tank and failed to score a single point in the fourth quarter for the 4th game in a row.
• His wildcat play call on first a goal from the 6 was Reidesque, i.e. moronic.
• The Eagles had way too many negative plays on offense.
• Foles was again efficient throwing 3 TDs and made some other really nice throws. He was quietly excellent. His streak of no interceptions though is holding on by a thread. The refs bailed him out this week more than the bounces did.
• McCoy again danced too much, but played a solid game against a really good run defense.
• Jackson went over a 1,000 yards for the season and gets some props for taking some crushing hits and getting back up for the next play. He also had a great punt return that the refs stole away.
• Cooper was a solid contributor.
• Still can't wait until Avant is gone.
• Both tightends, Ertz and Celek, collectively were big contributors, catching all 3 touchdowns. The Eagles effectively exploited this Cardinals' weakness.
• Not really satisfied with the offensive lines run or pass blocking.
• The defense was solid. They gave up some 3rd and longs but at the same time got 3 turnovers and a big 4th down stop at the end of the game. Also impressive was the pressure and sacks.
• Patrick Chung is terrible. For the second game in a row he moronically smashed into his own teammate while failing to make a tackle and allowed the opponent to waltz into the endzone because of it. This happens because he takes terrible angles and he sucks. Later in the game he smashed into Cary Williams and he yelled at him.
• Lots of credit goes to Bennie Logan for simply falling on the ball for his fumble recovery.
• Too bad Roc Carmichael can't do the same on that muffed punt.
• Could the player of the game be the punter? Donnie Jones was great with another 70+ yard punt flipping field position and several punts downed inside 20.

I have no idea why the link for the comments is now failing to show up. To get to the comments click the time below to view the post individually or this link I have to create manually - Comments.

A game in December that means something!

12/01 1:00 PM	Opening	BetOnline	5Dimes	SportsBetting	Bovada
Arizona @ Philadelphia	48.5 -3.5	48.5 -3	49 -3	48.5 -3	49 -3

Bonus Question: How will the Cardinals stick it to the Eagles this time?

RG3 and 7

The Eagles "finally" stopped their home field losing streak (which was made a bigger deal than it should have been), but of course they had to make what was a blowout a nailbiter in the process. After putting up 17 points in the first half and marching down the field to open the second for another TD to make it 24-0, the offense decided to call it a day. The following drives were mostly a parade of 3 and outs.

Meanwhile the defense was shutting down the Ethnic Degradations offense and RG0, holding him to just 4 yards passing in the first half and zero points. But as the offense stalled later in the game they were put on the field more and more and they eventually cracked. First they gave up a long touchdown pass and run to the fullback (of all people) as Chung crushed Trent Cole instead of the receiver. Then they converted the 2 point conversion.

On Washington's next series a few minutes later RG0 underthrew a deep ball into the endzone that his receiver adjusted to and made a great catch. Then they converted the 2 point conversion.

After the Eagles offense failed to put the game away again, Donnie Jones unleashed a 70 yard punt that was downed at the 4. That didn't faze Washington though as they methodically went down the field. I was certain the Eagles would lose after pathetically giving up a 3rd and 25 on the drive and I was going to blame Kelly for the loss as his offense went into the tank. But in the end the previously terrible then suddenly hot RG0 returned to terrible again with an awful decision and throw, floating up a prayer into the endzone that landed in Brandon Boykin's intercepting hands to seal the 24-16 win for the Eagles. After the game Boykin said, "I just saw the ball floating in the air, and I was like, "Is this real life?'" It was a pretty ridiculous pass.

Other notes:

• The defensive line played great with Cox and Logan standing out.
• There was even a Brandon Graham sighting!
• I thought Connor Barwin though was the defensive player of the game with some batted passes, great tackles and the sack and forced fumble of RG0 as they were position to score points.
• The offensive line was ok. They can be better. They also got called a lot for holding and hands to the face penalties.
• What's up with Celek's afterburners?
• Foles was solid again and though made a couple of iffy throws - Avant down the middle and Cooper on a slant - he still didn't get picked.
• Foles had a great run on his touchdown and outrushed RG0, 47 yards to 44.
• McCoy danced too much again and cost the team first downs. Glad he wasn't hurt though with the hamstring thing.
• Brown was useless again.
• Another week, another missed challenge.
• What was Washington doing with their offensive game plan?
• What was Chip Kelly doing with his offensive game plan after going up 24-0?
• This was the first game in a while I got emotionally involved. I guess that's a good thing.

The Ethnic Degradations back for another beating (I hope)

11/17 1:00 PM	Opening	BetOnline	5Dimes	SportsBetting	Bovada
Washington @ Philadelphia	48 -3	53 -4.5	53 -4.5	53 -4.5	53 -4.5

Bonus Question: Will the Linc's jinx fall?

On the road to Nictory

On the same field that Michael Vick's career reached its pinnacle 10 seasons ago in a playoff win vs. Brett Favre, Nick Foles cemented his hold on the Eagles starting QB job with another solid performance. Foles was shaky and held the ball too long in the first half, but he continued to do what he does best - make good decisions. He also was helped by a great bounce on the DeSean Jackson touchdown. The defense was also shaky at times and got some bounces, but they again stiffened in the red zone and got stronger as the game progressed. Kelly also came through again with nice play calling and half time adjustments, earning the Eagles a 27-13 win.

Other notes:

• Nick Foles is first player in NFL history to have a passer rating of 149 or higher in consecutive games and Foles' passer rating of 149.3 is highest ever by an opposing QB vs. Packers at Lambeau Field [or County Stadium]. Yet the Vick deadenders continue to call the radio shows to disparage Foles and downplay his games.
• Stats courtesy of Reuben Frank's Twitter.
• Another Foles myth was put to bed as McCoy ran for 155 yards vs. the 5th ranked running defense. I guess you can have a running game without Michael Vick after all.
• McCoy had a great game. He was decisive, broke tackles and made would-be-tacklers look ridiculous.
• The offensive line blocked great both for McCoy and Foles.
• Riley Cooper started with a bad drop, but was great the rest of the way with another 2 touchdown grabs, 1 of which was a 9 in difficulty.
• The Eagles set a team-record of eight games with 400-plus yards of offense. Yep, Coach College and his vanilla offense is overmatched.
• A negative in this game was the 0-3 red zone failure. This game could have been a blowout.
• The Eagles held the ball the last 9:32 of the game with a drive that just pounded the ball on every play but one - the nice tight end screen to Casey that he powered for a crucial first down. The last time the Eagles went on a long drive to ice the game was a couple years ago vs. the Giants.
• Unlike the San Diego game where they had to score and Kelly was criticized for rushing down the field, this end-of-game drive was to preserve a 2 TD victory.
• After the first half the Eagles impressively shut down Eddie Lacey.
• Eagles tackling was again really solid.
• DeMeco Ryans was probably the best player on defense. Lots of tackles, one really huge hit, and a nice interception.
• Nice pick by Boykin to save a TD, but Rodgers makes that throw. Good thing Tolzien, 6 days off the practice squad, was making it. I wonder if McCarthy is being called overmatched and a college coach for calling that play.
• Alex Henery sucks. Another miss and more weak kickoffs.
• Packers strategy as the game wore on was thrown the ball up for grabs and hope the refs call interference on the Eagles then cry about it when they don't.
• Pat Shurmur needs to be fired. He was asleep on 2 challengeable calls, especially the 36 yard pass on the sideline by Green Bay where the guy clearly landed out of bounds.
• I liked how the Green Bay fans didn't know the rules on the punt downing.
• I also enjoyed how they actually thought Nelson caught that ball in the endzone. But so did Nelson and McCarthy. IT WASN'T EVEN CLOSE unless Nelson has a 2' wide hand.
• You know who else didn't know the rules and was delusional? These refs. So many bad calls and missed calls it is hard to decide this week's Mama Deetz Wurst reffing of the the game, but it will go to the first of 2 missed blatant facemasks on McCoy.

Thank you big fat Bears lineman

11/10 1:00 PM	Opening	BetOnline	5Dimes	SportBetting	Bovada
Philadelphia @ Green Bay	52 -10	47 PK	47 PK	47 PK	47 -1

Bonus Question: Which Foles is going to show up?

Just get blown out, baby

Everything went right for the Eagles offense today on route to a 49-20 destruction of the Oakland Raiders. I only remember one drop (Avant) and just a few penalties, none of which were killers. There were no turnovers, no gutless efforts, and no freelancing. Kelly called a good game and the players executed the plays nearly flawlessly. Foles bounced back from his atrocious effort vs. Dallass to join the "Magnificent Seven," the 7 players in NFL history to throw 7 TDs in one game. Except Foles only needed 3 quarters to do it and along with only Peyton Manning, did it without throwing an interception. Foles had more TDs (7) than incomplete passes (6) and attained a perfect QBR of 158.3. In fact, Nick Foles had the BEST EVER statistical performance in the history of not just the Eagles, but the NFL. I hope you weren't out grocery shopping or something and missed it.

Meanwhile, the defense had another very solid performance despite somehow giving up a total of 560 yards. I continue to see the glimmers of promise they've shown at points in every game this season (but Denver) slowly being realized. I see more attacking and less hesitation. I see more discipline as well as guys are not freelancing or ignoring the scheme and getting caught out of position. And they continue to stiffen in the redzone. Today may have been the best all-around performance of the defensive line. They had good and fairly constant pressure all game and managed to keep forcing Pryor to his left, which is kryptonite to him. A few times they lost containment and he escaped for big runs, but by and large he was bottled up. One thing this defense needs to get better at though is creating turnovers. They had 2 in the second half off of deflected balls, but the game was well in hand by then.

The biggest part of special teams today was covering all the kickoff returns and they did a great job. I don't think one return got past the 30 and several didn't make it to the 20. Jackson was returning punts and his goal seemed to be to run to the sideline as fast as he could get there. His one good return consisted of a few moves and then gaining 5 extra yards as he ran from one side of the field to the other as he raced to get out of bounds. Then of course he grabbed his would be tackler's facemask and yanked on it getting a 15 yard penalty. The tackler was the punter.

Chip Kelly is back to "offensive genius" status. All the "experts" and their mindless, follow the shiny object, herd "analysis" can get back on his bandwagon now. This "overmatched" "college" coach with a "backup" QB dominated the Raiders, who had only given up 10 passing touchdowns all season before today. Note also that Kelly was again wearing the proper head attire - a baseball hat - while the Raiders coaches were wearing the visors. Another key to this victory.

Other notes:

• Let's see if Foles gets as much national tongue bathing as Manning did from earlier this season. Here's all the records he tied or broke.
• Until today, the Raiders had allowed only 1 TD on throws at least 15 yards all season.
• Nick Foles is pretty good against pirate-themed teams said Twitter.
• Eagles ran that Foles lateral option play once in preseason.
• Bryce Brown showed up today for a little while.
• The running back Jennings showed up for the Raiders.
• Warren Sapp predicted the Eagles would be shut out today.
• Tim Ryan's head is bigger than Joe Buck's.

No clever headline

11/03 4:05 PM	Opening	BetOnline	5Dimes	SportBetting	Bovada
Philadelphia @ Oakland	-2.5 43	44.5 -1	44.5 -1.5	44.5 -1.5	45 -3

Bonus Question: Will the offense score a touchdown?

Really bad

The Eagles topped last weeks offensive disaster by putting up ZERO offensive points this week in losing 15-7 to the basement dwelling NY Giants. Vick was awful from the start and should never have started. He went 6 of 9 for 31 yards and 1 interception in his almost 2 quarters of play and never crossed the 50 despite starting his first series at the 41. Matt Barkley finished the game and was better, but not really that good. His first series showed promise as he lead the team all the way down to a first and goal at the 2, but then coughed up a stupid fumble instead of throwing it away after the Giants sniffed out the naked bootleg called. Barkley went a perfect 4 turnovers in his first 4 NFL possessions. He is a machine.

For the rest of the game Barkley would make a couple good throws here and there but not enough to sustain a drive more than 2 first downs or so. In general he looked more competent this week than last and had much more zip on the ball, but he thinks he has 2 minutes to stand in the pocket and look around. The running game was terrible again as the holes just aren't as big for McCoy as they used to be and he also looks slower and indecisive. It didn't help that neither Vick or Barkley ever kept the ball on the read option plays. Bryce Brown is next to worthless.

The defense was once again impressive. Sure the Giants only punted once in the first half, but the defense ultimately held the Giants to only field goals and they got stronger as the game wore on like in past weeks. They played well enough to win the game, but they desperately needed to create a turnover to help out the pathetic offense.

Special teams were ok, and they did score the only points of the day thanks to a terrible snap on a Giants punt. The onside kick effort that followed was really poor though.

Kelly was bad this game. His first mistake was starting Vick who clearly couldn't play and sucked more than usual. So Barkley then had to come into another bad situation and without practicing with the first team offense. His other mistakes were questionable choices to go for it and not go for it during the course of game. I won't really get on him about the play call on the 2. If every know-it-all sportswriter and talkshow host on twitter was calling for a handoff to McCoy there don't you think the Giants would have been ready for that too? Granted that call probably wouldn't have resulted in a fumble, but the turnover is on Barkley not throwing it away like he's supposed to, not Kelly. On the onside kick, I would have kicked it deep, but he is right that 1 first down by the Giants and the game would be over anyway because the Eagles only had 1 timeout left. In the end the Giants did get a first and still the Eagles did get the ball back with only 27 seconds left. If they had kicked it deep though, the way the Giants punter was kicking the ball the Eagles might have been starting at their 36 instead of the 16.

Other notes:

• After watching this terrible game I had no desire to watch any more football for the rest of the day and even wished the Flyers were playing tonight so I could watch that.
• The new worst ad during NFL games is now the Julio Jones dancing one since the Ken Jeong one seems to have dropped out of the rotation.
• Brady's first half was worse than Vick's: 6/8, 25 yards and 1 interception.
• DeSean Jackson is a coward. I didn't listen, but did he say, "For who, for what?" after the game?
• Jackson isn't the only one guilty of not putting their head down and trying to power for the first down though. Lots of players on this team don't have a clue what the goal is it seems.
• Casey made a catch today! And he powered for a first down on it.
• On fourth and long you throw the ball long and hope either your guy catches it or a moron on the other team does. What you don't do is dump it off for a 3 yard gain.
• The previous play where they flagged Avant for offensive pass interference nullifying a first down was this week's Mama Deetz "Wurst" officiating of the game.

Bonus rant:
You want to identify an idiot? Anyone that says, "Chip Kelly is overmatched." Or some version of "that's a college move." every time Kelly makes a mistake. The people that say it like it because they think it makes them sound superior to and more knowledgeable about football than 1 of the 32 people in the world that's good enough to become a head coach in the NFL. Instead they sound like idiot sheep as they bleat out what every other idiot is saying.

Every coach in the league makes bad decisions. Andy Reid made hundreds. Tom Coughlin has made hundreds. Even Bill "football genius" Belichick has made hundreds. But when they make them they are just ripped for making a bad decision. There isn't this superior attitude and condescension toward them like they were from wrong side of the tracks and how dare they think they can come in here and show us what's what. Dontcha know we're the self-anointed "most knowledgeable fans in sports!"

The same attitude is present nationally in aging mediocrities like Phil Simms and Merrill Hoge who can't stand that someone might try something different and succeed, so they just nitpick the things that support their view and ignore everything else that might contradict it, like stats. And at the beginning of the season hacks like them were saying that the offense can't keep up this pace because this is the NFL and the players will wear out blah blah blah. Now they are complaining that the Eagles aren't playing fast like they were "promised." Chip Kelly did what they said he should do and now they hold it against him.

They also are making the complaint of "they said this offense was going to change the game. And it isn't!" In reality "they" is no one or maybe a couple of Chip Kelly boosters in the media, but they insinuate that somehow Chip Kelly made that claim and now this uppity college coach is getting his comeuppance. What small, bitter losers these guys are.

And mind you, these grand pronouncements are being made after a handful of games with a bad team and a QB situation that is now a disaster. Whatever happened to "I'm just going to watch and not expect much because I understand the situation going in." I picked 8-8 and so far that doesn't look like it's going to happen. So what. This season is about making the transition from the dreck and culture of losing left behind by Andy Reid to hopefully a better future. Kelly has made his share of mistakes, bad play calls and decisions and could turn out to be a total bust. But I will give him more than 7-8 games to show me what he's got.

Giants back for another beating

10/27 1:00 PM	Opening	BetOnline	5Dimes	SportsBetting	Bovada
NY Giants @ Philadelphia	54 -6.5	52 -5.5	51.5 -5	52 -5.5	52 -6

Bonus Question: How many quarters will Vick last?

Dallass sucks

This game went like no one predicted at all. Instead of a shootout it was 3 and out with the Eagles making most of them on their way to their 9th straight loss at home and a 17-3 defeat.

It's hard for me to say if the defenses just really played well or the offenses were off their games. Nick Foles was certainly off his. Last week he was the NFC offensive performer of the week and had a 133.3 QBR vs. the #9 ranked defense. This week he was the NFC's worst offensive performer and had a QBR of 42 something against the #30 ranked defense in what was the biggest, and worst game of his career.

Foles was the opposite of his previous appearances - he was indecisive, skitterish, held the ball too long, very inaccurate, and came up very small. He missed wide open players all game or didn't see them. Foles is the #1 reason the Eagles lost this game and only scored 3 pathetic points. Of course the prima donnas on the offense, LeSean and DeSean, were throwing up their hands and gesturing all game, but neither made a play of note themselves. The running game was also terrible and McCoy reverted back to dancing around instead of going where the play was designed.

The defense on the other hand probably played their best game of the year in a losing cause. The Cowboys offense is one of the best and they never really got on track. Witten was largely eliminated and though he had over 100 yards, Bryant didn't really kill the Eagles. Predictably though the defense gave up a TD drive to start the second half and another after the Henery field goal. It's like clockwork when they let down.

Chip Kelly also had a terrible game. Other than Foles's terrible play, I'm not really sure why the offense was so inept, but some of the blame has to be put on the play calls. The people who "watch the tape" I'm sure will be able to discern what was different this week. There were no long passes, but the one that predictably came after the Ryan's interception and the other to Jackson that went out of bounds. And the running game wasn't used effectively against what we were lead to believe was a porous run defense. And not going for it at the end of the first half was also weak. Henery is not going to make a 60 yard field goal.

• Matt Barkley was actually worse than Foles. He truly sucks.
• Defensive line had some decent pressure for a change, but nothing that was really game changing.
• I like that the refs "let them play" in the secondary.
• Eagles did get away with some stuff that the refs could have called.
• Despite only scoring 3, it wasn't because of killer, inopportune penalties or turnovers. So there is that positive!
• I remember Brian Baldinger saying of Chip Kelly early in the summer that he would run circles around Monte Kiffen. I wonder if that will come up tomorrow on the radio.
• I am so tired of Jason Avant.
• Specials teams did a good job in coverage except for 1 kickoff return.
• Dez Bryant is a constant whiner.
• I like how Romo tried to blame the back for the interception he threw right to Ryans.
• Football genius, Terry Bradshaw, basically proclaimed after this game that Foles can't play in this league. Anyone notice Tom Brady's performance today? Everyone can and does have a terrible game.

Dallass sucks

10/20 1:00 PM	Opening	BetOnline	5Dimes	SportsBetting	Bovada
Dallass @ Philadelphia	-3 54.5	-2.5 55.5	-3 55.5	-2.5 55.5	-2.5 55

Bonus Question: How many records will Witten break?

F-f-f-Folin'

The Eagles went down to Florida this past Sunday and played a team that ably represents the state that they call home. Tampa finds ways to lose, is in disarray, and is diseased. But despite everything going against them they still gave the Eagles a game.

The Eagles began with an impressive opening drive and were quickly up 7-0. But then McCoy fumbled on the next possession which allowed Tampa to steady things. Tampa even led at the half 17-14 as the Eagles D was its usual shreddable self and the offense struggled due to Tampa's successful pressure and blitzing. But then on Tampa's opening drive of the second half they turned the ball over via an interception and the Eagles took the lead back. The defense then "stiffened," (ok, became somewhat less jelly-like) holding Tampa to only a field goal in the second half while the offense took control and put the game away with long, successful drives resulting in a final 31-20 score.

• Foles had a really good game. Desean Jackson had 2 TDs, Riley Cooper made an appearance and caught one too, and Foles even QB drawed in a TD from the 4.
• Players with 3 Pass TD and 1 Rush TD in a game this season: Cam Newton (twice), Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Nick Foles.
• The offense seems to move faster under Foles. Hard to accurately gauge though.
• The offense under Foles continued its redzone success, going 3 for 4. The lone non-TD was at the end of the game when they were simply running out the clock and only needed a FG.
• McCoy had over a 100 yards again, but he seemed to actually get battered a little this game.
• Bryce Brown still loves to "bounce the play outside."
• I can't remember any drop of a catchable ball.
• The Eagles linebackers are pretty awful. Kendricks and Ryans can't cover and can be counted on to miss several tackles a game.
• The only duo worse were Stockton and Barber.
• The worst play of the game for the Eagles defense was when Glennon "ran" 16 yards untouched to convert a 3rd and 14. Just one of many 3rd and longs Tampa Bay picked up.
• Opposing offenses probably have the most yards vs. the Eagles on 3rd and longs.
• Someone needs to tell Damaris Johnson to stop running out kicks 9 yards deep into the endzone. For some crazy reason it's not working.
• The offensive line was up and down all game. Pass protection was pretty shaky at times with guys often being left completely unblocked.
• The defensive line was barely doing anything all game again and then finally in the 4th got a sack and some pressure.
• Trent Cole did nothing again.
• Start Foles.

The Bucs aren't the worst winless team

10/13 1:00 PM	Opening	BetOnline	5Dimes	SportBetting	Bovada
Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay	-1.5 49	-2 46	-1 45.5	PK 45.5	-1 45.5

Bonus Question: Can the defense give up 20+ points to the Buccaneers offense?

May the worse team lose

The Eagles 36-21 victory over the execrable NY Giants was enjoyable, but mostly uninspiring. Sure they won, but it took Eli doing his Eli thing and gift wrapping the victory for the Eagles. Up until that 4th quarter meltdown, the Eagles squandered trip after trip after trip into the redzone by kicking only field goals. And instead of being trounced, the Giants even managed to take a 21-19 lead midway through the 3rd quarter. But 3 straight series of Manning interceptions allowed Foles, subbing for an injured Vick, to lead the offense to touchdowns instead of field goals and the victory. Yay! First place!

Other notes:

• The Giants suck.
• While I view the defense as a Dodge Omni performing like a Dodge Omni, the offense's redzone ineptness is the biggest failure of this team. And I mostly blame the personnel. The same core group of Jackson, Avant, Celek, McCoy and most importantly, Vick failed repeatedly over the last 2 seasons and are failing again this season. Maclin being out makes it even more of a struggle. Will Foles make any difference?
• Vick was inept throwing the ball in this game despite playing the worst defense. He didn't even complete a pass until the second quarter.
• Vick was good running it though, until he pulled up lame.
• Kelly was kind of bragging this week about the Eagles not having any "soft tissue" injuries because of their sports science program.
• 3 drops for Jackson this week.
• No drops for Celek and one great touchdown catch.
• Eagles offense continues to rack up the massive yardage.
• In relief, Foles had an impressive 81.8 adjusted accuracy percentage if you take out the drops and throw aways.
• Eagles were the rare beneficiaries of bad refereeing this week with only one terrible call against.
• Then again the refs never called any of the obvious holding by the Giants all game...
• Yeah they were being held, but the Eagles defensive line's pressure was really weak vs. a terrible offensive line.
• Why didn't the Giants just throw that slant pattern all day or the down the middle pass?
• Speaking of the slant play, the last interception was not Manning's fault.
• Does Boykin get the credit for making Victor Cruz and his stupid dancing largely disappear?
• Boykin does get the credit for an incredible interception.
• Desean Jackson caught a redzone touchdown!!!

Double dose of Manningface could prove deadly

10/06 1:00 PM	Opening	BetOnline	5Dimes	SportBetting	Bovada
Philadelphia @ NY Giants	55 -4	53.5 -1	53 -1	53.5 -1	53.5 -3

Bonus Question: Who will have more drops, Celek or Hakeem Nicks?

I hate Peyton Manning

I hate Peyton Manning. I hate his "I'm the smartest guy ever, oh so focused all the time" act on the sidelines. I hate his tiresome pre-snap histrionics. I hate how his center can bob up and down all he wants all day long and how Manning can repeatedly flinch but if a defender moves an inch into the neutral zone that's offsides. I hate how the referees get cowed by him. I hate all his terrible ads. I hate his Manningface - Eli's is better. I do love his repeated choking in the playoffs though. Didja know the greatest football player ever has a worse playoff winning percentage than Donovan McNabb, and a losing one at that?

Anyway, the Eagles totally sucked and that's why they lost 52-20. Things I thought they would be rid of with the firing of Reid - the sloppiness, the stupidity, the horrible special teams, bad pass protection, red zone failure - have not gone away. The majority of these players are just sloppy and stupid, can't play and need to be replaced. A better coach can't coach up a stupid as bottomlessly stupid as the Eagles I guess.

So once again another game, another bunch of drops and killer penalties (some bogus) that the offense can never overcome. (Eagles had 8 penalties for 62 yards, Broncos had a ridiculously low 2 penalties for 25. Yeah right, refs.) Another game of special teams failures, this time as massive a failure as you can get with a kickoff return and a blocked punt that both go for touchdowns. And what's an Eagles game these days without Henery missing a field goal or Donnie Jones putting several punts into the endzone?

And another game of "what the hell are they doing" defensive performance. Was there anyone within 5 yards of a receiver in the entire second half? Why are the corners playing 10 yards off the line? Why are the linebackers so deep? Why are there linebackers and defensive ends lining up to cover Wes Welker? Why did they make it so easy for Manning to throw short passes all day that resulted in 10 yards after every catch? Why did the defense give up? I would think their anger at being made to look so bad would compel them to do something, but all they did was lay down and get walked over. The Eagles need a Zac Rinaldo.

So we know the players are soft and are morons, but I thought the coach was supposed to be smart and a risk taker. Instead Kelly coached this game in fear of Peyton Manning. As I noted already, the defense played scared to "give up the big play" and instead gave up a million smaller ones on the way to being steamrolled. But the offensive play calling was equally as timid. GO FOR IT on 4th and 6 at the end of the half. Instead they punt it into the endzone giving Manning a whopping 17 more yards to go than if they had failed to gain anything on 4th down*. Then later in the game when the blowout was in full motion, Kelly is kicking more field goals. Why? So Henery can get some needed practice? When you are the bigtime underdog you have to take more risks to have a chance. The team played terrible, but Kelly's timidity just made things worse.

Now the bright side: Sure the Eagles defense was a wall of wet Kleenex, but the Ravens defense was even worse. Manning put 49 on them. The Broncos are killing everyone right now. The Eagles offense once again gained over 400 total yards including 166 rushing and averaged 6.5 yards a play. They just keep stopping themselves, but at least no turnovers this week! And the last positive is the Eagles will now be facing very beatable competition as the next eight opponents are currently 7-24 including the winless Giants and Buccaneers. The Eagles are bad, but coming up we will find out if they are really bad, or can aspire to something more, like mediocrity.

*Yes, I know the Broncos ended up starting that drive at the 10 because of a rare Broncos penalty, but the Eagles did not cause that to happen, they got a rare break.

Let's convince Manning it's a playoff game

09/29 4:25 PM	Opening	BetOnline	5Dimes	SportBetting	Bovada
Philadelphia @ Denver	59.5 -13	57 -11	57 -12	57 -11	57 -11

Bonus Question: Which will be higher, Eagles turnovers or Manning TD passes?

Eagles totally defeat themselves like always

On the night of Andy Reid's return, the Eagles returned to the effort and execution of last two years that got Reid canned. The special teams which has been great the previous 2 games were terrible with bad coverage, another missed field goal and a muffed punt. Vick returned to the good ol' Vick throwing stupid picks, getting 4 or more balls batted down, and making bad throws and bad decisions. The bulk of this loss is on him and the offense. He killed them all game. The offensive line were often getting manhandled and giving up sacks, making bad snaps for fumbles or big losses, false starting and committing other killer penalties. The defense was actually really good for most of this game, but like the last couple years they came up extremely small in third and really longs. And when it really, really mattered at the end of the game they couldn't get off the field. So all around a total crap job by everyone!

Other notes:

• These Thursday night games really suck. But then again, they are so well played.
• It's a cliche, but no team can win turning it over 5 or 6 times (I lost count.)
• Shocking an Andy Reid led team failed so often in the redzone.
• Shocking McNabb gave such a stirring and sincere speech during his jersey retirement ceremony. I was truly moved.
• Riley Cooper blows.
• Kendricks blows.
• Henery blows.
• Avant made some great catches.
• McCoy was once again the best player on the field. Too bad only he and Avant showed up for the offense. Too bad they didn't pass it to him like they did last week. Why not?
• Defense held its own and played well, but Alex Smith isn't that good.
• The going for 2 play was stupid.
• Sad when the highlight of the game for Eagles fans was the good ol' Reid time management meltdown at the end of the first half. But how come the delay of game didn't lead to a 10 second runoff?
• I wonder if Kelly exploded in the locker room after the game. So many screwups and self-inflicted death blows. Kelly isn't used to this.

Big and red is back

09/19 8:25 PM	Opening	BetOnline	5Dimes	SportsBetting	Bovada
Kansas City @ Philadelphia	50 -3	50.5 -3	50.5 -3	50.5 -3	N/A -3.5

Bonus Question: How big an advantage does Reid have going against the team he assembled with one someone else assembled?

Defense is the worst

The defense is the worst. The Chargers went for 539 yards, only had to punt once all day and were forced into fumbles twice inside the 20, once at the 2. Other than that they scored on all their possessions including the game-winning field goal with 7 seconds left to win 33-30.

The defense is the worst. They made Philip Rivers look like the quarterback that a lot of people have been trying to sell us for years. He was 36-47 for 419 yards and helped convert 10 of 15 third downs. And he didn't even throw a pick six or implode in the fourth quarter!

The defense is the worst. The secondary can not cover, Nate Allen especially. But here's a plus - he led the team in tackles! I wonder why... Kendricks returned to last year's model - a can't cover and can't tackle machine. And where was the pass rush? Where was Trent Cole? There was zero pressure all day, every blitz was picked up easily* and this all with King Dunlop playing on the Charger's line.

The special teams were not terrible, but they also did not come through. Henery missed a very makeable 46 yard field goal and with the game on the line and the Chargers fumbling the kickoff, 4 stumbling and bumbling Eagles could not come up with it. If they had recovered that they would have won the game. But there were a lot of what ifs, that could have changed the outcome.

What if James Casey could catch a touchdown and not let the ball come free when hitting the ground? What if Vick and Jackson connected on more of the wide open bombs they tried instead of only 1? What if Lane Johnson lined up correctly on another Jackson touchdown that got called back? And the biggest what if is, what if the Eagles actually milked the clock on their last drive instead of running out of bounds, rushing to the line and leaving the Chargers with almost 2 minutes against this defense to move 60 yards to kick the winning field goal? That last one is on Kelly. (The offense should have scored a touchdown on that drive, but does anyone think it would have mattered?)

*After the game several Eagles players insinuated that Rivers knew what they were going to do on every play because he knew their calls. Billy Davis was the defensive coordinator under Chargers offensive coordinator, Ken Whisenhunt when they were together at Arizona, so it was probably more of knowing everything Davis does and Rivers was smart enough to figure it out when he came to the line and called the play.

Other notes:

• The defense is the worst.

Don't get cocky

12/23 1:00 PM ET	Opening	5Dimes	BetOnline	Bovada	SportsBetting
Washington @ Philadelphia	51.5 -6.5	54.5 -9	54 -7	55 -7.5	54 -7

Bonus Question: Is this the worst version of a team's song ever?

Eagles dominate, then take "foot off the gas," but hold on, 33-27

The Chip Kelly era begins with a weird game and a win, but not an entirely satisfactory one. Eagles blazed to a big 33-7 lead taking advantage of a rusty RG0, terrible play by the team from DC, and a superior effort. The Eagles were prepared, confident and energized while Washington was timid, shaky and confused. The Eagles should have scored over 50 points in this game given their great field position, the mistakes Washington was making, and how they were playing. It should have been 40-0 at the end of the half as well. A total beatdown and game over with the backups playing the last quarter.

But the Eagles made mistakes of their own and were victims of the usual terrible officiating we've all come to expect in every game. Then in the second half the Eagles let up and relaxed.

After going up 33-7, Washington was given life by a suddenly passive defense and scored a TD to make it 33-14. Then Jason Avant (who I can't stand) stupidly and carelessly coughed up the ball because he was holding the ball in the wrong hand. This switched all the momentum to Washington and they quickly made it 33-20 but failed on the 2 point try. The offense mustered a drive via some runs by Vick into the edge of field goal position but then a holding penalty pushed them out of it. The next drive Washington crossed the 50 and failed on a long 4th down try. The offense only converted 1 first down and then punted again. RG0 went right down the field and then tossed up another floater into the endzone that Chung watched float over his head for a TD looking like a little leaguer. This play reminded me of that terrible play last year vs. RG3 that Coleman and Boykin blew that also should have been a pick. Fortunately the Eagles recovered the onside kick to preserve the win and everyone could breathe a sigh of relief.

Other notes:

• Offensive totals: 26 first downs, 445 total yards, 180 passing, 265 running.
• Didn't Haslett say earlier this week that his defense would be ready for anything the Eagles did?
• This offense is not tricks. It's smart, fast and executed very well.
• They started the season with a pass play again, but had a 2 to 1 run/pass ratio in the end.
• The first quarter was as long as a half.
• It's telling when the Super Bowl referee that ESPN had commenting says a forward pass is a forward pass and then the incompetent clowns doing the game say otherwise.
• Also, too, it was a forward pass because the guy that knocked it down was downfield from where Vick was standing.
• What a terrible game by Alfred Morris: a fumble, a dropped pitch that led to a safety, and only 45 yards on 12 carries, with 28 of that coming on 2 of them (I think).
• RG0's QB rating was 2.8 in the first quarter.
• But how about that defense? Aggressive but smart, better than solid tackling, actually taking advantage of turnover opportunities and creating them, really good coverage and surprisingly stuffing the run, and several solid hits and sacks on RG3. Too bad about the let up in the second.
• On the Celek TD it's amazing how linebackers will bite on play action when you actually run the ball.
• Speaking of running the ball, amazing game by McCoy - 184 yards on 31 carries and a great, highlight laden TD run.
• Special teams was great too. Solid tackling, positional punting with an assist on the safety, nailed all the kicks, and recovered the onside kick to preserve the game. They were a big part in this game and had Eagles in great field position all game and Washington starting inside its 20 half a dozen times or more.
• Carey Williams played great - tight coverage, a sack, amazing interception, great defense on the 4th down play and only one fight.
• Vick missed some throws early and then seemed to be scared to throw the ball downfield in the second half, but overall was really good and took care of the ball. Still taking way too many hits though and not sliding or throwing the ball out of bounds.
• Also really good games on defense from Trent Cole, Kendricks, and Thorton. Boykin also had a really nice pick.
• Only Patrick Chung reminded you of last year's defense.
• Other injuries that are good to fake are stingers, twisted ankles and hip pointers.
• Redskins believed their hype. Can't blame them after their awesome 9-7 record last year though.
• Terrible challenge by Kelly on that Ernst drop.
• Jackson played really good, but is still a moron. Very lucky he didn't get a retaliation penalty after Hall horse collared him out of bound.
• Brown likes to freelance and bounce the runs outside instead of going where the play is supposed to go.
• Merril Hoge, who said this offense won't work in the pros, can eat it.
• Great prediction ESPN. I wonder why you didn't mention it during the broadcast.

Monday night vs. team with bigoted name

9/09 7:10 PM	Opening	5Dimes	BetOnline	TopBet	Covers
Philadelphia @ Washington	51 -6.5	52 -3	52 -3.5	51.5 -3.5	52 -3.5

Bonus Question: Is everyone sick of RG0 yet, the national sports media's latest mancrush?

2013 Predictions

New coach, new systems on offense and defense, and new attitude! But mostly the same old players that went 4-12 last year and were a complete embarrassment, especially on defense. There's also the same old storyline with Vick - he did this and that in the offseason, worked super hard, and is even watching film with DeSean Jackson (wow!) and he will be a real quarterback this year. Yeah, right.

On the positive side though the offensive line is healthy and there seems to be an acknowledgement that the most talented players on the entire team are in the backfield, so running the ball will not be an afterthought. However, depth everywhere else in nonexistent and many of the starters on defense would be benchwarmers on other teams or maybe not even in the league.

In the comments make your season long, game by game predictions for the Eagles and whatever reasons you might have to justify them. Also, what teams will be in the AFC and NFC championship games, the Super Bowl, who will win it all, and what teams will be this year's worst? As an added bonus, this year I'm putting up the various prop bets you can make on the Eagles. So if you want, predict those outcomes as well.

1 SEP 09 7:10 PM @ REDSKINS
2 SEP 15 1:00 PM ET CHARGERS
3 SEP 19 8:25 PM ET CHIEFS
4 SEP 29 4:25 PM ET @ BRONCOS
5 OCT 06 1:00 PM ET @ GIANTS
6 OCT 13 1:00 PM ET @ BUCCANEERS
7 OCT 20 1:00 PM ET COWBOYS
8 OCT 27 1:00 PM ET GIANTS
9 NOV 03 4:05 PM ET @ RAIDERS
10 NOV 10 1:00 PM ET @ PACKERS
11 NOV 17 1:00 PM ET REDSKINS
12 BYE WEEK
13 DEC 01 1:00 PM ET CARDINALS
14 DEC 08 1:00 PM ET LIONS
15 DEC 15 1:00 PM ET @ VIKINGS
16 DEC 22 1:00 PM ET BEARS
17 DEC 29 1:00 PM ET @ COWBOYS

OVER/UNDER BETS from Bovada
Eagles total wins: 7.5
Vick starts: 13.5
Vick TD passes: 19.5
Vick total rushing TDs: 3
Vick interceptions: 12.5
Vick passing yards: 3,200
Vick rushing yards: 450.5
McCoy rush yards: 1100.5
McCoy receiving yards: 400.5
McCoy total TDs: 10.5
DeSean Jackson receiving yards: 950.5
Desean Jackson total receiving TDs: 5.5
Riley Cooper total receiving TDs: 4
Trent Cole sacks: 7.5
Fletcher Cox sacks: 6

Awful game

This game was worse than the dreck that ended the season last year, but I watched anyway. I was helped through it however with a Brooklyn Cuvée La Boîte and a Great Divide Wolfgang Doppelbock Lager.

The Eagles started the game on defense and on the very first play "bubble player" Chris McCoy dropped an easy pick 6. Typical. But they overcame that blown turnover with a safety via a penalty in the endzone forced by Brandon Graham. And aside from a few decent hits, that was the highlight of the defense's performance. This secondary is awful. They will get torched in every single game despite playing 10 yards off the line of scrimmage. Even if the offense puts 30+ up no lead will be safe because of this. In addition to poor coverage they also tackle poorly. This does not bode well for stopping the run. Yeah, not every starter was out there on defense, but a bunch of them were and it did not look good.

The Eagles offense in the first half was also terrible and looked completely sketchy and even panicked. Foles was 6 of 17 for 63 yds, was sacked twice and everyone took a turn dropping passes that hit them right in the hands. Foles also fumbled again while being sacked. There were dumb mistakes and penalties that were absent in previous games. The backup offensive line was terrible. So if anyone gets hurt again like last year...

Barkley played the second half and had one good drive but was weak otherwise. He also threw a terrible pick six to ice the game for the Jets. It was the usual late and behind the receiver pass that he's been throwing all preseason.

Player notes

• Linebacker Acho probably will make the team and was the "star" of the game with 11 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Kelly praised him in the postgame.
• Linebacker Knott was undrafted but will probably make the team.
• Bennie Logan is also receiving good reviews.
• Casey Matthews was bad. Despite playing for Kelly in college, he may finally be gone.
• Antonio Dixon also got poor reviews.
• Good ol' Danny Watkins may also be shown the door.
• I was surprised by the poor play of Clay Harbor who is on "the bubble."
• James Casey pulled his hamstring and had zero impact in yet another game. Is he going to be cut?

This weekend I'll put up the post to make your predictions for the season.

Same old crap as last year

Well it didn't take Michael Vick long to revert to being the real Michael Vick and the offense to look like Andy Reid was still coach and Mornhingweg was still calling plays with a 29-10 first half pass to run ratio. Just 4 days after winning the QB competition, Vick was back to holding the ball too long, throwing balls up for grabs, unnecessarily getting hit a lot and causing the offense perform inconsistently and without rhythm. It was the furthest thing from "unstoppable."

Vick is still really dumb. And just like he will never learn to slide, he will never learn to read blitzes or make the smart throw to a wide open guy for a sure, short gain or throw with anticipation, and instead he will hold the ball and will look downfield for the homerun play. The offensive line did its part by being poor at times in protection causing Vick to be rushed and scramble. For oldtime's sake they even let a guy come in for a sack largely untouched on a 3 man rush.

Foles on the other hand ran the offense how it should be run - fluidly. He made quick decisions, got rid of the ball quickly and took what the defense gave him and went 10 for 11 in the process. He led the team to the victory via two 4th quarter drives, one of 50 yards and the winning drive of 99 yards with time running out - JUST LIKE JOHN ELWAY. Yes, it was against lesser defensive players, but he was playing with the second team offense as well.

The defense was just as porous and shreddable as last year. They made Chad Henne and Justin Blackmon look like Montana and Rice and let Jordan Todman of UCONN and the 183rd pick in the 2011 draft run for 105 yards on 8 carries. The line was often blown off the ball on runs, and the secondary is pathetic. Nobody they have playing safety can cover or take good angles for tackles. The line does get good pressure on pass plays though, but what difference does it make when receivers are wide open?

Another repeat of last year was Bryce Brown running up and down the field and then flushing it all down the crapper with a terrible fumble. This time as he was about to score a TD. This was just 1 of 3 really bad, self-inflicted (via carelessness) turnovers committed by the Eagles. This game would have been a blowout (just like last week) if the Eagles could just take care of the ball.

Chip Kelly also did his part on retro night with a dumbass challenge that I couldn't really make sense of. Bart enjoyed it though.

Unlike last year, special teams were solid once again. Henery made all his kicks, coverage was good and the punters put the ball where it needed to be. And aside from one dumb decision and a bad fumble, Damaris Jackson was great on returns.

Also unlike last year, the Eagles won the game, 31-24, despite being bad. So that is promising...

Jacksonville's helmets are terrible.

Eagles defeat Panthers, 14-9

I didn't get to see last week's game because I was out of town so this was my first introduction to Chip Kelly's offense and I was impressed. The offense played with purpose and energy, the plays were not predictable and inventive, gained yards on almost every play and most promising, they were executed very, very well. There was even tons of time and room for the QBs when they dropped back. The Eagles looked like they knew what they were doing. The hurry-up strategy was also having the desired effect of keeping the opposing defense off balance and on their heels. Both Foles and Vick moved the team with ease and looked more than competent, with Vick getting the overall edge. McCoy looked great and according to the always excellent and error-free color commentary of Brian Baldinger, he literally broke defenders ankles.

The one huge negative, which is the same huge negative of last year and the year before, is turnovers. Foles stupidly and weakly threw a ball away that didn't make it out of the back of the endzone and instead was intercepted taking away guaranteed points. Later Polk lost a fumble as a result of a feeble slap at the ball and this also killed a drive destined for points.

The defense played much better than last week (obviously), but it also seemed like Cam Newton played really bad and Steve Smith wanted to be doing something else. The Panthers didn't seem to really care much about the game. The defensive line got some good pressure, Chung made a few hits and nice tackles, and Kendrick also made several really nice plays and tackles. Other players that made plays that stood out were Cox and Thorton. Cary "Big Mouth" Williams made no impact except with the ground when Steve Smith slammed him into it. The one huge negative, which is the same huge negative of last year and the year before, is the Eagles defense can not get a turnover. They blew several interception chances again this game and made no attempts to strip the ball.

Another aspect of the Eagles that is greatly improved over previous years is special teams. The kick returns actually gained yards and coverage was also really, really good. Prediction: Punter Brad Wing is going to the pro bowl. Henery blew a 44 yard FG though. It was probably Laurie who was being interviewed in the booth at the time saying, "Great kick." that doomed it to sailing wide right.

So overall there were signs of hope and future competence after watching this game. There definitely was new energy on offense. The defense will have flashes, but on the whole they aren't inspiring any delusions of making the playoffs though. They have a long way to go.

Eagles Draft

The Eagles draft has come and gone and almost everything I've read and heard from the "experts" is positive with frequent use of the words "Eagles got a steal."

1. Lane Johnson, offensive tackle
   Johnson is supposedly an athletic freak of nature that is raw and has lots of upside. (insert lame fireman joke here) He put on almost 100 pounds somehow in the last couple years as he transitioned from QB, to DE, to OT. His coach at Oklahoma called him "country strong." Other things that you've probably heard already is he had a faster 40 time in the combine than Anquan Boldin did and a higher vertical leap than some receiver I can't remember and has a mean streak. I think this guy will get beat a bunch at first and people will complain, but as he adjusts and matures he will be solid to excellent for a long time. Some more Lane Johnson info here and here.


2. Zach Ertz, tight end
   Ertz is the new breed of tight end that is taking over - runs routes like a wide receiver and sometimes lines up as one, but is bigger and burlier than they usually are. He still put up lots of numbers even after Andrew Luck left. Many people are very high on this guy and what he will bring to the offense, especially in the redzone, aka the deathzone. Kelly called him a "mismatch nightmare." And remember, the Eagles also added James Casey in free agency. I predict this guy will be better than L.J. Smith. Read more here and here.


3. Bennie Logan, defensive tackle
   The Eagles finally decided to do something about their crappy defense in the third round by picking Logan. He's weighty, but not that tall and they think he can put on some more poundage via muscle to further help plug up the middle. The notable story about him is he wore #18 at LSU, an honor given to the player that best exemplifies the LSU Tigers on and off the field. In other words, he's a leader, a hardworker, and a good guy that the coaches like. I'm figuring this guy will be solid and hard to move and make a play here and there that stands out, but overall nothing spectacular. Read more here and here.


4. Matt Barkley, quarterback
   This pick was the first of a run of several where the Eagles picked someone that was expected to go much higher. The Barkley pick is also the pick that got the most buzz and I guess you could even call it "controversial." Barkley famously gave up chance to be drafted in the first round last year to play his senior year and then USC had a crappy season, he got hurt and his stock dropped enough that he was picked in the 4th round, which few foresaw. If you look at his stats, his numbers really didn't really drop much from his junior season and he set all of USC's passing records for yards and TDs. But Barkley is still a mystery. Some experts say the Eagles got a huge steal and Barkley is the most pro-ready of all this year's QBs while others say he has a rag arm and will be a scrub. Either way the Eagles now have 4 QBs on the roster and a mismatch of skill sets that you can't scheme one style of offense around. Nobody can figure out what Kelly is thinking. It is my hope that Foles or Barkley beats out Vick so the team can move permanently into the future and end the Vick experiment. Read more here and here.


5. Earl Wolff, safety
   With Wolff, Kelly finally drafted someone to hopefully help out his jr. varsity/medical reject safety crew. What I liked most about Wolff when I was reading about him is that he appears to play smart and with a real feel for the game. He will not stupidly thrown his body into a runner in hopes of blowing up a guy and making a highlight. Instead he will wrap up and make a solid tackle. He is also fast. Another good thing is his family's roots are from Philadelphia and his uncles were all wearing Eagles gear when he got the call and started whooping it up. Who knows if that will make him play better, but it can't hurt. Read more here and here.


6. Joe Kruger, defensive end
   By the 7th round you're just hoping you get lucky with guys that become better pros than they were in college. Kruger is another raw guy with impressive size and "lots of upside." He apparently can also play outside linebacker too. Football runs in this guy's family so maybe he will turn into a player we remember. Read more here and here.


7. Jordan Poyer, cornerback
   Poyer is most notable for snagging 7 interceptions last year, tied for second most. It would be nice if the Eagles had a corner again that actually picked passes off and went up and fought for balls. Maybe Poyer can be that guy. He also returns kicks and shockingly just catches it and heads upfield instead of dancing around first. Read more here and here.


8. David King, defensive end
   The Eagles started with a pick from Oklahoma and ended with one. King seems like just a guy though he did make the Big 12 All Academic team. Read more here.

The Eagles also signed a bunch of undrafted free agents. The 2 most interesting are another puntapus, but one that his college coaches hated, and a running back from Stony Brook that kinda looks a little like a smaller but speedier Duce Staley. Read about them here.

Catching up

Here is this year's results from the Tourney Pick'em a month+ late.

CHAMPION: RGIII, Max Power with 109 points. Picking Louisville as the champ took him to the top.
RUNNER UP: tim with 105. Tim also picked Louisville which vaulted him to 2nd place.
2nd RUNNER UP: ronscrappypicks, ron with 84 points. I made the fatal error of not picking Louisville as the champ and lost because of it. If Michigan won, I would have.

Rest of the standings:
4. Amnesty Bryz - 74pts
5. BAD Tawny! No dog park!, Brent - 69pts
6. Onions! SeannyBoy - 58pts
7. ChillyV's Ingeneous Bracket - 53pts
8. Lil Smoky, Laura - 51pts
9. unskewed bracket, Karl Rove - 13pts

MARCH MUNDANITY!

Bracket registration closes at tip off of the first game of Round 1 on Thursday, March 21.

I set up "team" willweeverwin over at Yahoo! again. First go to Yahoo's Tournament Pick'em page and click the "Join a Group" button. On the next page click the "Join a Group" button again. If you have a Yahoo account, login. If not, follow the instructions and get one. Once logged in, enter the info below.

Group ID#: 181609
Pass: check the comments of this post

Where it says "Bracket Name" is where you would put your bracket's name. I am "ronscrappypicks" again. Finish filling the required stuff out and make your picks by the first game on Thursday. I decided to use the default Yahoo! scoring system again because it's simple.

This year's winner gets to watch Dick Vitale say "Baconator, baby!" in his dying voice about 1,000 times during the tournament.

Rapid response

Well, I used my brain pencil to jot down a few other mental notes during the Union's 2-1 road win over the Colorado Rapids, but really it was all about the below play.

Watch Antoine Hoppenot get fouled, run through that foul (where most players would go to ground), blow past another defender and then slot a perfect pass to Jack McInerney, who calmly deposited the ball in the far corner of the goal for the decisive score.



Beast move from Hoppenot, who didn't get a sniff of the field last week after probably being the Union's best player in the second half of last season. Even if he doesn't always start, plays like the above see Hoppenot getting regular playing time.

NOTES:

• Midfielder Amobi Okugo scored his first goal for the team with a first half header off a corner kick. Terrible Rapids defending helped.

• Forgot to mention Danny Cruz last week. He was a good mid-season (I think) pickup last year. Dude brings energy, does work.

• Sometimes I wish the MLS season coincided with most of the European leagues, instead of the summer-centric schedule it employs now. Considering this game was delayed a day by 10 inches of snow, I'm guessing that wouldn't work too well for Colorado.

Back in black

The Philadelphia Union are back!

So too, unfortunately, are Sporting Kansas City who, despite losing striker Kai Kamara to the EPL's Norwich City, are still better than the Union. Thus, the Union's 3-1 loss to K.C. last Saturday at PPL Park.

It wasn't all bad news, though. The Union reacquired much-loved striker Sebastien Le Toux in the offseason, and he scored the game's first goal in his first start back with the club. Not bad. Also not bad: He was wearing the 11 jersey, worn by Freddy Adu last year and lending further credence that whiny baby Adu has played his last game for the Union. Adieu Freddy!

On the back of Le Toux's early goal, the Union dominated the first 30 minutes. There were a number of missed scoring chances (including a Le Toux sitter) in this period, however, and having weathered the opening storm, Kansas City took over the game and basically gave the Union a drubbing.

So the end result looked a lot like what we came to expect last season. There is some hope for this season, though. Le Toux is back as a bona fide goal threat from the center forward position. The Farfan brothers return as the talented and stable backbone of the squad, and many young players forced into substantive roles last season have that experience to rely on going forward. The squad is deeper, too, with acquired league vet Conor Casey and last year's revelation Antoine Hoppenot as serious scoring threats. And, as mentioned above, it looks like Adu won't be around to be annoying this season.

Last season was a chaotic one for those just trying to keep track of who was on the roster. Hopefully the team is more stable, and productive, this year.

Oh, right, that black jersey. What's that about, you ask? The team's third kit this season is a tribute to the Bethlehem Steel soccer club of the early 1900s. I'm guessing that's also a retro Bimbo logo on there, as well, though I'm fairly certain early 1900s players for the Bethlehem Steel did not sport "Bimbo" on the jerseys. They were already sponsored by the Bethlehem Steel corporation, of course. But they also HATED bread.

The new uniforms looked good. Nice and simple, good colors, thumbs up. Unless they keep losing in them.

And the parade of overrated mediocrities continues

I would say the highly touted Phillies started the trend in 2011 when they blew it in the first round of the playoffs vs. the Cardinals after putting up a record number of regular season wins. Next the lauded Eagles gave it momentum by going 8-8 despite all their so-called "talent." The Flyers kept it moving by dying with a whimper vs. the Devils in the playoffs after owning them in the regular season. The Sixers mini playoff run doesn't count because nobody had high hopes for them last year.

Then last years seasons roll around the Phillies fail even more miserably, the Eagles trump them by being even worse, the Sixers create high hopes by getting Bynum who is a total bust and go nowhere, and now the Flyers look terrible and have started 0-3 and can barely muster a goal. No scoring along with a bad defense and a mediocre goalie equals losing. A lot.

The Eagles think Chip Kelly is going work as a pro coach. I highly doubt it. The Flyers think Bryzgalov is going to come around this year. I highly doubt it. The Sixers think Bynum will get on the court and turn the season around. I highly doubt it. The Phillies think a lot of their aging and breaking down players will rebound and return to form. I highly doubt it.

Predictions:

• Kelly will flail and fail and be gone in 3 years, but probably 4 because Laurie won't fire him when he should.
• Flyers will not make the playoffs and Bryz will be amnestied. Snider will never get a clue.
• Sixers will overpay Bynum and be screwed for the next 5 years.
• Phillies will be cellar dwellers with the Mets.