Its almost hard to believe given what an unknown the quarterback position was before the start of the season, but once Vick got going, their potential seemed limitless. Therefore ending the season with three consecutive losses – including to GB in the playoffs – was a hard pill to swallow for Philadelphia Eagles fans who expected so much more and are never afraid to voice their displeasure.
The Eagles did have a couple of standout wins along the way including a very good home win against Atlanta and nice wins against the Colts and Giants in Philly as well. No win will be more remembered, cherished or bragged about than the Eagles’ thrilling come-from-behind stunner against the Giants. Had Philly lost that game, their playoff chances would have been obsolete. As it was, the Eagles lost the next three. Nonetheless, Philly fans will remember Desean Jackson‘s game winning punt return touchdown for decades to come.
Tag Archives: Philadelphia Eagles
Season in Review: Played below their potential
Posted by admin
on March 7, 2011
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Cutler, not Vick, the celebrated QB
Posted by admin
on November 29, 2010
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CHICAGO — Still doubting the Bears? They’re making it tougher.
Jay Cutler tied his career high with four touchdown passes and Chicago beat Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles, 31-26, yesterday to take sole possession of the NFC North lead.
“It was a big game for us,’’ Cutler said. “We talked about it in there. We have to keep going. We have to put this behind us. The true test in this league is consistency, especially in November and December, whether it’s third downs, red zone, turnovers, or winning ballgames. We just have to keep going.’’
The 31 points were a season high for the Bears (8-3), who have won four straight. This one put them a game ahead of Green Bay in the division, and it also came against one of the top teams in the NFC.
The Eagles (7-4) had won three straight, but were unable to break off big plays against one of the league’s stingiest defenses and fell into a tie with the Giants for the NFC East lead.
“It’s going to be tough to put this one on the backburner,’’ Vick said. “We have to do it.’’
Vick threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns. But he also threw his first interception in four years when he got picked off by Chris Harris in the end zone late in the first half, stopping a potential go-ahead scoring drive.
Matt Forte ran for 117 yards — the most by anyone against Philadelphia this season. That included a 61-yarder to set up the first touchdown. And when he wasn’t running by the Eagles, Cutler was picking them apart. He had a 146.2 rating, going 14 of 21 for 247 yards without an interception in one of his best games as a Bear.
Devin Hester caught three passes for 86 yards and Earl Bennett added two touchdown catches in an eye-opening win. There are still games remaining against the New England Patriots jersey
, Jets, and Packers, but the Bears are close to making the playoffs for the first time since the 2006 team’s Super Bowl run.
It didn’t hurt that the Eagles were missing their top two cornerbacks after Pro Bowler Asante Samuel stayed home with a knee injury and Ellis Hobbs went on injured reserve last week with a neck injury. Defensive end Juqua Parker also sat out with a hip flexor strain, but they still had a rejuvenated MVP candidate behind center.
Even so, the Eagles fell to 5-1 in games Vick has started and finished. He hit Brent Celek with a 30-yard TD pass that made it 31-26 with 1:54 left, but Johnny Knox recovered the onside kick, preserving the win.
“As bad as we played, we lost by 5 and they know we’re a better team,’’ left tackle Jason Peters said.
The Bears led, 14-3, through the first quarter, but were clinging to a 1-point lead late in the half.
Then, one big interception by Harris turned the momentum.
Vick had gone 238 passes without a pick after throwing one for Atlanta against Carolina on Dec. 24, 2006.
That streak came to an end on his 21st attempt of the game, and 212th of the season.
With the Eagles at the Chicago 4, Harris picked off a pass in the end zone that teammate Tommie Harris tipped, and ran it back to the 37. Six plays later, Cutler hit Bennett for a 6-yard TD that pushed the lead to 21-13.
The Green Bay Packers: The best team you’ve been ignoring
Posted by admin
on November 24, 2010
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Now that Brad Childress has walked the plank, and we can assume Brett
Favre(notes) will soon follow, the long and inevitable reconstruction
of the Minnesota Vikings can commence. And with that, it’s past time
to look past the disaster and give a few props to the team that is
clearly the NFC’s best.
Wait — haven’t we already been talking about the Atlanta Falcons,
Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants? Not so fast, Cheesehead-
breath. We’re talking about the Green Bay Packers. You know, the team
which went over to Minnesota and started these events in motion with a
31-3 beatdown, two weeks after it “welcomed” the Dallas Cowboys to
Lambeau Field and tore through them to the tune of a 45-7 margin,
leading directly to the firing of Wade Phillips.
(Note: The San Francisco 49ers play the Packers in two weeks. Watch
out, Mike Singletary…)
We know that the Vikings drama has monopolized talk of the NFC North,
and we’re partially responsible for this, but we really need to start
talking more about the Packers and the season they’re putting
together. Not only did they whack the Vikings in a season sweep
(making up for the Minnesota sweep in 2009), they’re two overtime wins
from a 9-1 record. Each of their three defeats have come by just three
points.
Aaron Rodgers(notes) is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and
he deserves a higher status than the eternal title of “Brett Favre’s
Replacement.” This is what Mike Shanahan could never find in Denver
after John Elway retired, and what the Arizona Cardinals may spend
years looking for in the wake of Kurt Warner’s(notes) new dual career
as a TV dancing star and NFL color analyst — the franchise
quarterback to replace the franchise quarterback. Short of the
Montana-to-Young succession plan, perhaps no team in the modern era
has done a better job of replacing such an iconic quarterback.
Rodgers finished in the top 10 in Football Outsiders’ quarterback
efficiency metrics in 2008 and 2009 (something Favre can’t claim), and
he currently ranks fifth, behind Kyle Orton(notes), Tom Brady(notes),
Philip Rivers(notes) and Peyton Manning(notes). Everyone mentions
Brady and Manning when talking about the league’s best quarterbacks,
and most people will add in Rivers and Drew Brees(notes) after that,
but it’s absolutely time to put Rodgers in that mix. He’s done what
he’s done despite an offensive line in flux, the lack of a No. 1
receiver at times, and the lack of a running game — the same things
that would upend most quarterbacks and did upend Favre in 2010.
The story goes far past Rodgers. “Endbacker” Clay Matthews(notes) is a
near-shoo-in for the Defensive Player of the Year award. Cornerback
Tramon Williams(notes) is one of the league’s most improved players.
Nose tackle B.J. Raji(notes) is playing at a Pro Bowl level, and
Charles Woodson(notes) is still one of the more versatile defenders in
the game. General manager Ted Thompson, the man who pulled the trigger
on the decisions that led to Favre’s departure from Green Bay, now
looks like a Wile E. Coyote-level “Super Genius” after everything that
has happened with his former quarterback. Head coach Mike McCarthy is
one of the game’s better playcallers and more adept handlers of
people, and defensive coordinator Dom Capers has brought every bit of
his brilliance to the team. Most teams which go from a 4-3 to a 3-4
defense tend to falter (hello, Washington Redskins!), but the Packers’
defense is more dynamic than it’s been in years.
So, get the Vikings out of your system, America. And once you’re done,
come back and reward excellence by paying more attention to what’s
going on in Green Bay. It is the best underreported story in the NFL.
After McNabb Signs an Extension, His Old Team Piles Up the Points
Posted by admin
on November 16, 2010
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Michael Vick, not Donovan McNabb, played like a $78 million quarterback, accounting for six touchdowns all by himself Monday, and his Philadelphia Eagles put a slew of new entries in the record books.
On a day the Redskins hoped to celebrate McNabb’s new contract and set aside the swirl of distractions from his benching two weeks earlier, Vick and the Eagles stormed the party and embarrassed host Washington, 59-28.
The Eagles scored on an 88-yard pass from Vick to DeSean Jackson on the first play from scrimmage, led by 35-0 after the first play of the second quarter and barely let up.
Vick completed his first 10 passes and finished 20 for 28 for 333 yards with 4 passing touchdowns. He also ran eight times for 80 yards and 2 scores, moving past Steve Young into second place in N.F.L. history, behind Randall Cunningham, for career rushing yards by a quarterback (4,295).
The Eagles set team records for total yards in a game (592) and points in a half (45), and they had the biggest lead after the first quarter for any N.F.L. road team (28-0) since at least 1950.Vick became the first N.F.L. player with at least 300 yards passing, 50 yards rushing, 4 passing touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns in a game.
More practically, the win moved Philadelphia (6-3) into a first-place tie with the Giants in the N.F.C. East, two games ahead of the Redskins (4-5).
A few hours before kickoff, the Redskins signed McNabb to a five-year, $78 million contract extension, with $40 million guaranteed, putting to rest any doubts as to whether he would remain the centerpiece of Coach Mike Shanahan’s rebuilding effort. It was Washington’s first game since Shanahan benched McNabb in the final two minutes of a loss to Detroit on Oct. 31, after which Shanahan cited McNabb’s less-than-full grasp of the two-minute offense, and later his lack of “cardiovascular endurance” stemming from sore hamstrings, as the cause.
McNabb received a standing ovation and applauded the fans in return when he was introduced with the starting lineups, but most of those fans had left by halftime on a rainy night.
McNabb finished 17 of 31 for 295 yards with 2 touchdowns and three interceptions, nearly all of the yards coming after the Redskins had dug themselves a five-touchdown hole.
SHUFFLING QUARTERBACKS Dolphins Coach Tony Sparano said that Chad Pennington’s latest shoulder injury was long-term but that Chad Henne, who sustained a left knee injury Sunday, might be available for Miami’s game against Chicago on Thursday.
Tyler Thigpen, the third-string quarterback, is the probable starter against the Bears after finishing Sunday’s victory over Tennessee.
The Dolphins held tryouts for at least two quarterbacks Monday, and the team was expected to sign a roster replacement for Pennington.
CLAUSEN HAS CONCUSSION The status of the Panthers rookie Jimmy Clausen for next week is uncertain because he has a concussion.
The Panthers were seething over the play that may have injured Clausen. They said a couple of Tampa Bay players recklessly dived into a pile as Clausen, starting because of Matt Moore’s season-ending shoulder injury, was stuffed shy of the goal line on fourth down on Carolina’s final offensive play Sunday. Replays showed Aqib Talib appearing to give Clausen a helmet-to-helmet hit.
Panthers Coach John Fox declined to comment for fear of being fined, but he said the team would send a tape of the play to the league office.
APOLOGY FOR SNUB Kansas City Coach Todd Haley apologized for refusing to shake hands with Denver Coach Josh McDaniels on Sunday. Haley made a vulgar comment as McDaniels held out his hand after the Broncos’ 49-29 victory in Denver. Haley pointed his finger at him, turned and stamped away without shaking hands.
In a news conference, Haley declined to say what upset him. He said he had not contacted McDaniels to apologize. In his meeting with reporters, McDaniels said that he could not explain Haley’s snub but that he was not upset.