Complete Detroit Lions Game

Eagles vs Lions Highlights

Eagles Tame Lions

Birds Route Detroit 56-21

Eagles bounce back in a big way. With their backs against the wall, wearing the ugliest jerseys ever, the Eagles offense came to life. Except for a few bad play from Will James, and the Matador tackler, the Eagles defense was pretty solid.

McNabb Was Awesome:

A good mix of run, and pass was one reason the offense flourished, but the biggest key was that Donovan McNabb was outstanding. I really believe that taking the knee brace off, is the difference between the McNabb of last week, and the McNabb that threw for four TDs today. He was able to get full use of his knee, that gave him much better footwork, and resulted in very accurate passes. Donovan also seemed much quicker without the brace, and more like his old self. If he continues to play like this in coming weeks, everybody might forget that he even had a knee injury.

Donovan took a lot of heat this past week from fans, and the media nation wide. I think a lot of people are just impatient, and need to really shut up when it comes to Donovan McNabb. He is the best QB in Eagles franchise history, so cheer, and enjoy him while you can.

The Ultimate Weapon:

Brian Westbrook shows once again that he is such a big time play maker, as he gets 110 yards rushing, 111 yards receiving, and 3 touchdowns. The offensive line gets a lot of credit, for paving the way for Brian, but once he got in the open field, he shows why he is one of the best players in the NFL. Eluding tackles, and bowling through others, Brian just always seems to make guys miss tackles. I know this is the Detroit Lions defense, but he does this to every team.

Westbrook was snubbed from the Pro Bowl last year, but maybe this year he can get in.

Hat Trick:

That's right, three touchdowns for WR Kevin Curtis. Curtis had the biggest day of any Eagles receiver since TO. His biggest catch, was the first touchdown of the game where he put a great double move on the corner, and beat him for a 68 yard bomb.

That play started everything off, and the offense just opened up, as Curtis finished the game with 11 catches for 221 yards.

A lot of people ripped the signing of Kevin Curtis, and cried about the departure of Donte Stallworth. Well now I wonder how they feel about this move. Curtis just exploded today, and Stallworth has not done much in New England.

Sack Attack:

The Eagles brought heavy pressure on QB Jon Kitna, and surprisingly a lot of it came without blitzing. Trent Cole lead the way with a huge day, getting three sacks, and forcing a fumble. Cole is having a great season, and continues to get to the QB.

Jevon Kearse has done nothing over the last two games, but his backup Juqua Thomas had 2 sacks, and a forced fumble. Juqua has been a great pickup, and he also continues to get a ton of pressure on the QB.

Brodrick Bunkley had 2 sacks as well, and Quintin Mikell had a nice sack on a blitz. Mikell did an excellent job filling in for the injured Brian Dawkins, and he again proves how valuable he is to this team.

Sean Considine had a great interception, tip toeing in the back of the end zone, right before halftime. Great to see Sean make a big play.

Will James sucked again. He repeatedly got picked on, and exposed as a slow almost useless player to even have on the team. Shaun McDonald blew past him on the quick slant that lead to the Lions first TD. James also let Roy Williams catch the ball, and never even layed a finger on him, as he just kept on running to the end zone.

Joselio Hanson also had a shot at Williams, but of course he was unable to make the tackle. Hanson also dropped what should have been a interception for six the other way.

I am not sure which is worse, a corner who can't run, or a corner that can't tackle. I guess at this point, they should just bump Hanson up, because while James is like a traffic cone out there. Please get well soon Lito.

Jerseys Are Still Ugly:

There are a lot of superstitious people in the world, who think a teams jersey color could change the outcome of the game. For example, many people think the Eagles alternate black jersey is bad luck. Well I don't care that the Eagles blew out the Lions in these hideous rags.

I never want to see the Eagles wear this Jersey again!

The only people that the jersey looks good on is the Cheerleaders.

Are the Eagles really going to lose to the Lions?

Backs against the wall:

The Eagles are trying to avoid their first 0-3 start, since 1999. The team they face is the Detroit Lions. Usually that would be great news for a struggling team, but this may not be your typical woeful Lions team.

In 2003 the Eagles started 0-2, and were able to amazingly finish the year 12-4. Can this team duplicate that same magical run? Not likely if McNabb continues to struggle. He needs to forget the past two weeks, and step it up this week. The season is on the line. An 0-3 hole is too big to climb out of.

Not the same ole Lions:

This Lions team is 2-0, and is loaded with offensive talent. Especially at the WR position. Roy Williams is one of the leagues elite, and Calvin Johnson is quickly proving he belongs among that group too. Former Rams receiver Shaun McDonald is also a threat that has to be accounted for. Not having Lito Sheppard causes huge mismatch problems, as the Eagles will now have to rely on Will James, and Joselio Hanson much more than they should.

The Lions do not particulary run the ball well, but they do have a good group of backs. Tatum Bell has explosive speed, and TJ Duckett is a load between the tackles. If the Lions can sustain any kind of running attack, they will probably have the Eagles defense on their heels.

Starting QB Jon Kitna made a bold prediction in the pre-season, that the Lions would win ten games this year, and so far it is looking good. He is a solid veteran, and is a very tough guy. He left last weeks game against the Vikings with a concussion, but was able to return in the next quarter to lead his team to victory. He has a strong arm, and is very capable of hitting those big time receivers deep for big plays.

This offense will be a huge test for the Birds, and one I do not feel very confient that they will do well against.
Defensively the Lions are pretty average. However, Shaun Rogers, and Cory Redding are one of the best DT tandems in the league. Second year linebacker Ernie Sims is a tackling machine. DE Dewayne White is an undersized speed end, similar to Trent Cole. He was a very underrated pickup in this offseason, and he has made a bunch of plays for Detroit already. Linebacker Boss Bailey has not done much in his career, but after two games in 2007, he already has two sacks.

The Lions secondary no longer has Dre Bly, and Terrance Holt, but has played pretty well so far. If there was any group that the Eagles should attack, it is this one. People have been ripping the receivers a lot, and if they can't get open agains Detroit, the Eagles are in serious trouble.

McNabb takes off the brace:

McNabb practices without brace
Bob Kent, of PhiladelphiaEagles.com, reports Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb (knee) participated in practice without a brace on his surgically repaired right knee Friday, Sept. 21.

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Maybe it is the knee brace, that is disrupting Donovan's footwork. If he can confidently play without it, I think you may see his accuracy dramatically improve. Keep an eye out early, to see if he is wearing it or not.

Time to run the ball Andy:

Enough of this 75% pass happy offense. To help McNabb out, and the offense out, the Eagles must run the ball much more. When they do hand off to Westbrook, he makes good things happen. This issue has been hammered in the media time, and time again, and now everybody should just pray that Andy will get the message. Run the ball Andy!

Ugly UCLA Jerseys:

These are probably the ugliest football jerseys i have ever seen. The design, color scheme, and helmet, are all terrible. Any other Eagles throwback jersey would have been a better choice. I personally would have liked to see the Kelly green. If the Eagles lose, I am partially blaming the ugly jerseys.

L.J. Smith Out Sunday

L.J. Smith underwent surgery Friday to clean out some scar tissue surrounding his injured groin. The tight end has been ruled out for Sunday's game, and his recovery and rehab is said to be week-to-week.

Smith, who had offseason sports hernia surgery, strained his groin in training camp and has been fighting the injury since. This week, however, it reached a point where Smith was unable to participate in practice.

"He seemed like he was getting a little bit worse, so we referred him to Dr. (William) Meyers, who did the sports hernia surgery on him and Dr. Meyers suggested last night that he have a procedure this morning to free up some of the space there in his groin," explained Eagles head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder.

"It was a 20-minute procedure in which he opened up the sheath around the muscle, which gives him a little bit more room. It allowed fluid to drain out of the muscle that was injured back in training camp. It had a collection of fluid in there. And he also cleaned out a bunch of scar tissue which was around the muscle and also around the nerve, which was probably what was causing him pain."

The injury has certainly limited his productivity as evidenced by his numbers through two games -- 26 yards on four receptions.

Burkholder would not put a timetable on Smith's return, but did point out the positives about the situation.

"The one good thing about this surgery is they didn't have to fix anything," Burkholder said. "You don't have to wait for anything to really heal. You just have to wait for all that swelling and everything to go down and let him get back to function where he can play football at a normal level.

"We're going to take it week-to-week. We'll see how he does next week."

Veteran Matt Schobel and rookie Brent Celek will play in place of Smith against the Lions.

On defense, free safety Brian Dawkins did not practice Friday due to neck spasms, while Pro Bowl cornerback Lito Sheppard did some conditioning work.

Dawkins' status will likely be determined at game time, while Sheppard's return was termed a "longshot" by head coach Andy Reid.

On offense, running back Brian Westbrook practiced fully Friday and is expected to start

Quarterback Donovan McNabb practiced without a brace on his surgically-repaired right knee. He wore a sleeve over the knee, but no brace. It's uncertain what protection he will wear on Sunday.

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Injuries: B-West, B-Dawk Remain Sidelined

Thursday came and went without much of an update on Brian Westbrook. Dressed in his jersey and shorts and wearing an Eagles sideline hat, the running back watched practice much like he did on Wednesday.

"That's a day to day situation," offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said earlier in the day. "We'll see."

The strained knee that Westbrook suffered in Monday night's game was scheduled to be looked at further by team physicians.

Westbrook's official designation for Sunday's game against the Lions will come Friday when head coach Andy Reid holds his final media briefing.

Correll Buckhalter has taken reps with the first-team offense, while Westbrook has undoubtedly gotten plenty of mental reps as a spectator.

Westbrook has accounted for 53 percent of the total net yards the offense has produced over the first two games.

Knee swelling limited Westbrook's practice reps early last season but he missed just one game -- the Monday night win over Green Bay -- and finished the season with a career-high 1,217 rushing yards.

Dawk, Smith, Lito Remain Sidelined

In addition to Westbrook, the team practiced Thursday without cornerback Lito Sheppard, free safety Brian Dawkins and tight end L.J. Smith.

Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson seemed optimistic about having at least one of those defensive starters in the lineup for Sunday.

"We anticipate he's going to be there Sunday," Johnson said of Dawkins. "We don't plan on Lito right now."

Dawkins suffered a neck stinger as a result of a hit he put on Redskins tight end Todd Yoder in the fourth quarter. On Wednesday, Dawkins said his neck was a "little stiff" and that he was not experiencing any headaches or dizziness. Johnson expects to have Dawkins back on the field Friday.

Sheppard remains sidelined with an MCL sprain suffered in the season opener.

Smith, meanwhile, continues to fight a nagging groin strain that has hampered the tight end since training camp. The injury has limited his productivity as evidenced by his numbers through two games -- four catches for 26 yards.

"L.J. is a tough guy. He's been playing hurt," said offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. "Whoever is in there, we expect to play well."

Matt Schobel and rookie Brent Celek could see extended action this weekend depending on Smith's status.

Seven Added; Two Return

Seven players were added to the team's injury report Thursday although all of them participated fully in practice. Those players included kicker David Akers (quadricep), right guard Shawn Andrews (shoulder), receivers Hank Baskett (back), Kevin Curtis (quadricep) and Greg Lewis (hip), quarterback A.J. Feeley (hand) and defensive end Jevon Kearse (shoulder).

Meanwhile, strong safety Sean Considine and left tackle William Thomas were back on the field after sitting out Wednesday. Considine suffered a knee contusion Monday night, but returned to the game. Thomas exited Monday's game with back spasms, a condition he's battled on and off for the last five years.

Lions Injury Update

Starting tight end Dan Campbell missed practice for a second straight day due to an elbow injury. Backup running back T.J. Duckett (ankle) also missed practice again.

Starting defensive end Kalimba Edwards (ankle) sat out Thursday's practice. He was limited in Wednesday's workout.

Sarting nose tackle Shaun Rogers (knee) and running back Kevin Jones (foot), a former first-round pick, were both limited for a second straight day.

Added to Detroit's report were starting left tackle Jeff Backus (knee) and reserve linebacker Anthony Cannon (quad), both of whom did not practice Thursday.

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