Eagles Fly Past the Jets 16-9

Ugly win, but the Birds will take it

Westbrook is Invaluable:

What a nice return for 36. He had 120 yards on 20 carries, and also chipped in with 36 receiving yards. He was consistently very good all game, and completely changed the Eagles offense. Even though the Eagles only managed to score one touchdown, they moved the ball very effectively.

With Westbrook, L.J. Smith, and Tra Thomas all returning, the offense seemed to be more normal, than it has been in the three losses. Brian's presence on the field, opens things up for the receivers, as defenses always have to account for him. He is such a threat to break a big play at any time in the game.

I was very worried about his abdominal injury, but it seemed to be ok today. It must not be as bad, as previously reported.

Lightning Strikes Again:

Kevin Curtis made the play of the game, when he took a quick slant 77 yards for a touchdown on the Eagles opening possession. It was 3rd down, and McNabb had a perfect strike to Curtis, who broke through 2 tackles, and sprinted to the end zone.

Give a lot of credit to Donovan to, for making the audible after reading the Jets defense.

It was a great play, and Curtis is showing that he is a quality starting NFL receiver.

What Can Brown Do For You?:

Not much so far this season, but Reggie Brown finally had a good game. He did not do anything spectacular, but he did play solid. He managed six catches for 89 yards. Many of those were third down catches, including his last big catch when the Jets desperately needed a stop. Hopefully as the offense gets healthy, Brown can continue to get involved more.

Bend Don't Break:

Overall the Eagles defense did a great job. They did give up some yards on the ground, but locked up the Jets in the red zone holding them to four FGs(1 missed). In the first half Thomas Jones was killing the Birds with cutback runs, but in the second half they fixed that.

Sheldon Brown was huge, as he was able to get a big interception off QB Chad Pennington, and Brown also batted down the crucial 4th, and 1 pass. WR Laverneous Coles was pretty much shut down, and give credit to Brown for his big game.

The defensive line is starting to get a nice rotation going, and they now added Lajaun Ramsey to the mix. I really think Ramsey was a great find by the front office, and he should be used more often. Trent Cole notched his team leading 6th sack of the year, and Jevon Kearse was also able to get a sack.

A few minor things that bugged me, are some missed tackles by Considine, Gocong, and James. Those three guys at times play well, and sometimes just look foolish.

The Eagles defense is not great, but they are playing very well. There is clearly a huge difference from last year to now. I think you have to credit the excellent play of the young DTs, and the linebacker overhaul. Many people ripped the Eagles for releasing Jeremiah Trotter, but now it is clear it was the right move. Omar Gaither has been playing very well, and deserves a lot of credit.

Akers Sucks In The Meadowlands:

The numbers don't lie. He has missed more FGs at Giants Stadium, than any where else in the NFL. He hooked two 41 yarders wide today(one might have been tipped).

I don't know if it is the wind, or the ugly New Yorkers, but Akers is not money there.

Normally I have complete confidence with Akers, but not today. Not in that windy stadium. I remember when he missed a chip shot FG there, that could have clinched home field in the playoffs years back. Maybe it is in his head?

I just hope that the Eagles season never comes down to a big kick up there.

Ugly Jets/Titans throwbacks:

Looks like the Rams uniforms a little. These are not as bad as the blue/yellow Eagles throwbacks, but these throwbacks make me wanna throw up.
Season Back On Track?:

Not yet. It is always important to gets Ws, but this is a bad Jets team the Eagles beat. They also did not do it very convincingly. The offense moved the ball well, but settled for too many FGs. The defense played very well, but there are still some mistakes being made.

Realistically the Eagles need to win about 3-4 in a row, before the ship is righted. With only 3 losses, they are clearly not out of it, but now they can't afford to lose many games from here on.

I was almost ready to give up on the team after the Giants loss, because I did not think Brian Westbrook would be able to come back from this injury. Well BWest is definitely back, and looking great, so now I still have some hope. They need to build off this win, and improve in some areas for next weeks match up with the Bears.