Eagles Scalp Skins

Goal Line Stand Saved Season:

The Eagles defense had been on it's heels most of the game. The defensive line had gotten almost no pressure to this point, the secondary was brutal, and the linebackers were missing tackles.

The Redskins had a first and goal at the 2 yard line, after Donovan McNabb fumbled the ball a few play before. A Redskins score would put them up 9, and would have likely sealed the game.

The defense had enough. On six plays inside the five(a penalty in the middle) the Eagles defense rose to the occasion. They held the Redskins to a field goal, and gave the offense a chance to win the game.

This stand reminded me of Lito's interception against Carolina last year. A play that saved the Eagles season, and sparked the entire team. I only hope this has the same effect.

A Play To Remember:

After the goal line stand, the Eagles still had to score. Who do they turn to in situations like these? Brian Westbrook. Put the ball in Westbrook's hands, and let him do his magic.

On a perfectly executed screen play, McNabb tossed the ball to Brian over the heads of three defensive lineman. Then there were two devastating blocks by Shawn Andrews, and Jon Runyan. This got Westbrook into the clear, and he did the rest from there. A great cutback left, and Westbrook almost had a clear path to the end zone. As he dashed 50 yards or so, he made a cutback right to avoid the last possible tacklers, and scored.

This 57 yard amazing catch, and run was the play of the season for the Birds. It reminded me of the Tampa Bay play from last year, except this time there would be no miracle field goal. This time his great play will be remembered.

Westbrook had an awesome game. He rushed for 100 yards on 20 carries, he had 5 catches for 83 yards, and three total touch downs.

If the Eagles want to continue to win games, the formula is simple. Get the ball in Brian Westbrook's hands.

McNabb Showed Mobility:

Donovan looked like the Donovan of old. He was moving well in the pocket, he escaped, and run a few times. He even had some nice moves in the open field. It looks like the knee is starting to not be an issue. At least is wasn't on Sunday.

McNabb did not have a perfect game, as a few pass were nearly intercepted, but when you look at the final numbers he played well. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 251 yards, and 4 touch downs.

The offense scored 5 times, and looked a lot better than it has most of the season. The Eagles were successful in the red zone, and that was a great sign. The Birds need to build off this, and continue to make strides.

A Gutsy Call:

What a call by Andy Reid on 4th, and inches. The Eagles had fallen into a 3rd, and 21, and Donovan Fired a bullet to Jason Avant. They fell inches short of the first down, and as Andy Reid was standing there looking at the distance they needed, he decided to go for it.

Normally you always punt on 4th down at your own 39 yard line, but the Redskins offense had been moving all over the Eagles. Reid knew this, and could not afford to go down another score. He put faith in his guys that they could get the few inches, and they did.

The call was a QB sneak. Donovan Got behind Jammal Jackson, Todd Herremans, and Shawn Andrews, and just dove forward to get the first down. This eventually led to the Eagles scoring on a touch down pass to L.J. Smith.

The decision was huge, and Andy made the right one. This helped the offense gain confidence. Great job by Andy Reid.

FINALLY!:

Reggie Brown pointed to his wrist, to symbolize that it was about time he got in the end zone. Brown had a very slow start to the season, and there had been very high expectations from him. The past three games he has slowly become more involved, and yesterday he made a great adjustment to an under thrown McNabb pass. I'm not sure how the safety did not see the ball, but Reggie did, and was able to haul it in. It was great to see him score, and hopefully this will get the ball rolling.

Brown wasn't the only one to get their first touch down of the season. L.J. Smith found the end zone as well. L.J. has been banged up for most of the year recovering from his hernia surgery. He finally looks to be back to his old self. He made some nice grabs, and got a crucial touch down on third down in the red zone.

Smith did fumble once, which really hurt the team. It lead to Washington's first touchdown. I hate the way he holds the ball when he runs. He uses one arm, and does not even tuck it away. The ball is just resting on his forearm, and is not pressed against his body like it should be. L.J. has had the issue for a while now, and he needs to correct it already. Andy Reid should put him to fumble school, like Tom Coughlin did to Tiki Barber. Teach him a new way to carry the football, and make sure he sticks with it. You can not afford to have plays like that in the NFL.

Revenge Of James Thrash:

Yes that's right folks. It was not T.O. this time. It was James stinkin Trash. The same James Thrash who almost never made a play. The same guy who got punked by Carolina in the NFC Championship Game. He somehow managed to have a field day on the Eagles. Thrash had five receptions for 85 yards, and two touchdowns. That is right TWO touch downs. I think that is double the amount Thrash had for all of the 2003 season as a starter.

The Eagles secondary should be embarrassed for the game they had. Will James was abused once again. They really need to just cut him. He is becoming the weakest link on the team. Sheldon Brown even let Thrash get some catches. Lito Sheppard let 37 year old Keenan McCardell score a touch down.

They just had a really poor day collectively. The only one who made a play, was Quinton Mikell. He forced a fumble, and Joselio Hanson recovered.

I know I have ripped Hanson in the past, but he should be the nickle CB at this point. Will James is getting murdered out there. It is time to at least put somebody there who has some speed.

Has Joe Gibbs Lost It?:

I really respect the man, and understand he is already inducted into the hall of fame, but he did an awful job coaching this game.

The Redskins committed 11 penalties, including crucial third-down miscues, and again suffered from questionable clock management and play-calling. Coach Joe Gibbs had no timeouts left in the final crucial minutes, and a conservative call on a late third-and-goal virtually guaranteed the Eagles would have a chance to win.

I was very shocked at how poorly the Redskins managed the game.

Season Saved. For Now:

Just when I think the Birds are done, they pull me back in. This was not the most convincing victory, but the Eagles will take it. A win is a win. Get them anyway you can.

I really expected the Eagles to lose this game too. I had lost my faith in them, and they surprised me.

Next week the Eagles have to handle business against the 0-9 Miami Dolphins, because after that is a trip to New England.

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.

Brown defends wide receivers

Reggie Brown has one word for all those who claim the Eagles wide receivers never got open Monday against Washington.

"Hogwash," he said Thursday.

"Do these quote-unquote experts actually watch the game, or are they just looking at the quarterback?" the third-year wide receiver said. "Most of the time when you see a game, you can't even see the receivers."

Brown has been conspicuous in his absence from the Eagles' play-to-play offense so far in two games, both defeats in which the offense underperformed.

He has a total of three catches for 41 yards so far, but late in the 20-12 loss to the Redskins, there were some rays of hope. Brown made a tough 19-yard fourth-down catch to keep alive a Philadelphia drive.

On Wednesday, head coach Andy Reid pointed to that drive as a sign that the Eagles offense might be emerging from the fog that has cost them two games.

Brown agreed.

"I think we started playing with a little bit more energy," he said of the fourth quarter. "Everybody focused in and we feel like we had to do it.

"It didn't feel like a sense of panic in the huddle. It felt like a feeling of confidence and unity and a sense of responsibility that we needed to go down and do this.

"Not panic."

Brown was a significant part of the Eagles' big-play potential in 2006, a potential that has not yet been realized this season.

Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said that Philadelphia's inability to hit on plays downfield has partly been a function of the defenses they have faced, which have sought to cut that aspect off.

Brown said that because the offensive timing has been off, the Eagles haven't been unable to hit on the shorter routes enough to draw defenses out of their prevent modes.

>>CourierPostOnline

Camp Report: Kevin Curtis

Kevin Curtis and Donovan McNabb are starting to get in sync as they work day in day out at the Eagles trraining camp. Curtis made a number of outstanding and acrobatic plays during some of the Sunday drills.

It's kind of ironic that Curtis is having a great day at Lehigh while the guy he replaced Donte Stallworth, is now on the New England Patriots Physically Unable to Perform List. I don't know the details of why Stallworth is out of action but I've heard it's the same hamstring problem which followed him from New Orleans to Philadelphia and now onto New England.

Curtis is starting to shine with his speed, quick feet and sure hands. He made a catch today in the end zone during a live red zone play which was nothing short of amazing. It's starting to become a regular thing that Curtis makes an unbelievable catch in every practice.

Later in the practice Curtis took off on a deep post route with Eagles starting cornerback Sheldon Brown in hot pursuit. Curtis pulled away from Brown and hauled in a 55 yard bomb from Donovan who hit Kevin in stride with picture perfect bomb.

On the other side, Reggie Brown has done quite a bit of damage as well. Brown has been making quite a few acrobatic catches of his own.

It's going to interesting to see which one is going to come out with the most catches but one things for sure. As of August the 5th it looks like the Eagles have made the right choice of wide receivers.[GCobb.com]