Eagles take on "Spygate"

Sheldon Brown and the Eagles hoped a blitz would rattle Tom Brady.

One problem: Every time the Eagles rushed Brady in the Super Bowl, the Patriots nullified the defensive attack with screen passes. Lots of them. On almost every play defensive coordinator Jim Johnson called for a blitz, the Patriots used the short pass to confuse the Eagles.

After the Patriots beat the Eagles 24-21 in 2005 to win the Lombardi Trophy, Brown thought the Patriots beat them with nothing but sharp offensive playcalling. Now, he's not so sure.

With spying accusations leveled this week against the Patriots, some of the Eagles left from the NFC title team are wondering if New England used bootleg film to their advantage in the Super Bowl.

"Do I think about it? Mmm hmmm," said Brown, their starting cornerback. "It's crazy. I just don't know how far back it goes. Something's not right about that."

Pro Bowl safety Brian Dawkins found the accusations troublesome.

"Now there's always going to be questions about the situation," Dawkins said Thursday. "Was it great adjustments at halftime or what?"

Pittsburgh wide receiver Hines Ward said this week that he suspected the Patriots had some type of inside information on the Steelers before at least one of the teams' two AFC championship game matchups since the 2001 season. While Ward said the Patriots knew a lot of Pittsburgh's calls, none of the Eagles could offer any type of solid proof of any shenanigans.

"For me to think back two years ago about something they may or may not have done, it's not worth my time," running back Brian Westbrook said.

New England beat the New York Jets in last Sunday's season opener in which an on-field video camera allegedly focusing on Jets coaches was confiscated from a Patriots employee.

On Thursday, New England coach Bill Belichick was fined the NFL maximum of $500,000 and the Patriots were ordered to pay $250,000. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell also ordered the team to give up next year's first-round draft choice if it reaches the playoffs and second- and third-round picks if it doesn't.

"I would like to think it's just one team doing it, but it doesn't shock me that it happened," Dawkins said.

Some Eagles said occasional signal-stealing is an accepted part of the game. But they believe what the Patriots are accused of doing crosses the football morality line because it threatens the integrity of the game.

"It's different if you're talking about recording it," Dawkins said. "What can you do if you try to signal a play in?"

Eagles coach Andy Reid steered away from questions about the alleged cheating other than to say he has no doubts New England's victory was legitimate.

"That's something Bill and the Patriots are working through," Reid said.

Brown said he noticed a difference in New England's playcalling in the second quarter. After the Patriots gained only 45 yards in the first quarter, they had 286 over the next three.

Brady hit running back Corey Dillon and gained 29 total yards on a pair of screens to open New England's first full drive of the second quarter. They didn't score on that drive, but did on four of the next five drives.

The Patriots went to the screen pass again on the decisive drive early in the fourth quarter, this time with Brady connecting with Kevin Faulk on two passes for 27 yards.

"I was like, 'Man, I never saw that many screens,' " Brown said.

Brown wonders if it was normal playcalling from a team good enough to win three Super Bowls in four seasons, a Patriots team that used a strong scouting report to gain a fair edge, or was somebody picking up the Eagles defensive calls from a sideline camera that deprived them of a fair shot?

"I think they should forfeit, man," said punt returner Reno Mahe, smiling. "We won the Super Bowl. I think we should get it. I'm going to go trade my NFC championship ring for a Super Bowl ring."

The headline over a picture of Belichick on the back page of Thursday's Philadelphia Daily News might have said it all: "Counterfeit RING: Spy Scandal Helps Explain Birds' Super Bowl Loss."

Hey, maybe the illicit tape would show once and for all if Donovan McNabb really did get sick in the huddle late in the game. Remember, that was Philadelphia's first excuse for losing.

McNabb -- who insisted the Eagles would never stoop to those kind of tactics -- was surprised to hear the allegations against the Patriots. But he said the suspicions might be overblown.

"One thing people are forgetting is that even if you have the answers to the test, you still have to take the test," he said. "If they have an idea of what's coming, those guys still have to be able to execute the play."

That doesn't mean McNabb won't clear some space in his jewelry box. For a city that last saw a pro team win a championship nearly 25 years ago, the Eagles might accept a retroactive one.

"Maybe we'll get our ring back," said a chuckling McNabb. "Maybe we'll get the real one."

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Shady Brady and Bill Belicheat

Patriots Cheated in Super Bowl XXXIX?

Super Bowl 39. In Eagles fans memories, it goes down as the one they let get away. Everybody remembers how turnovers were crucial mistakes, and how the Eagles apparently forgot how to run the 2 minute offense at the end of the game down ten points.

This painful memory still haunts Philadelphia fans today. Some still seek answers, as to what went wrong in the big game, and many choose not to relive that game ever again. I don't blame them. Until now.

The news has come out, that the New England Patriots are cheaters. In a nasty scandal dubbed "Spygate", the Patriots were caught red handed, stealing defensive signals from their opponent.

Many ask now, how long has this been going on?

Who knows. Many teams have accused the Pats of doing this very thing before, but there has never been any hard evidence until now. Hopefully more details can be dug up.

I am sure Eagles fans only want to know one thing.

Did the Patriots cheat in the Super Bowl?

That is an answer that nobody will probably ever know, except the Patriots themselves. When you look at how that game played out though, the circumstantial evidence appears to be there.

While there were many factors, that decided that game, I am going to only focus on the Patriots offense, against the Eagles defense. In that aspect, it was a tale of two halves.

In the first half of the game, the Eagles defense was playing great. They were swarming to the ball, breaking up passes, getting sacks, disrupting Brady, and they even forced a fumble in the red zone. They had tamed the Pats offense, and at the end of the half, the score was tied at 7.

Then came the third quarter. The Patriots came out a different team, and were suddenly advancing the ball at will. It seemed that for every Jim Johnson blitz, the Patriots executed the perfect screen to beat it. Brady was suddenly able to hit Deon Branch almost at will, and the Eagles defense was on their heels.

What was so different in the second half?

The Patriots knew what the Eagles defense was doing, because they had stolen their signals. Just like the Jets game, they had somebody record all the defensive signals in the first half, and matched them up to the sky shots that are given by every team, to see what a defense is doing every play.

With this information, they knew what the defense was doing before they even walked to the line of scrimmage. They had an unfair competitive advantage, and I believe it cost the Eagles, and the city of Philadelphia a championship.

Now you might say that I am being a homer, or that this post is just sour grapes, but think outside the box for a minute. Could this have really happened?

If you even paused to think about it, then there is some doubt in your mind. The possibility exists, and I feel it happened. Can I prove it? No, but hopefully commissioner Roger Goodell does a very extensive investigation. There is a chance that more evidence could surface, and back up my point.

I know that the Eagles will not be handed the Lombardi no matter what, and that many other things factored into that horrible defeat, but it just angers me that the Eagles season of destiny was possibly stolen away from them.

Eagles Packers Highlights

Mahe To The Rescue

Two days after special teams miscues cost the Eagles the season opener in Green Bay, the team shored up its return game by re-signing Reno Mahe on Tuesday evening.

Mahe, a reserve running back for the Eagles from 2003 to 2006, led the NFL with an average punt return of 12.8 yards in 2005. During his career, he has returned 64 punts for the Eagles, averaging 9.4 yards per return.

Head coach Andy Reid said Monday that catching the ball was the most important thing for his returners going forward, and Mahe is a sure-handed option. He has fumbled on a punt return only once in his career.

To make room for Mahe on the roster, the Eagles released safety J.R. Reed. In his first-ever game as a punt returner and on his third opportunity of the game, Reed muffed a punt that was recovered by the Packers at the Eagles' 31-yard line with 59 seconds remaining in the game. The Packers won the game on a Mason Crosby 42-yard field goal with just six seconds left. In the first quarter, Greg Lewis fumbled a punt that was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.

Mahe, who was living in Utah prior to his signing, jumped on a flight to Philadelphia early Tuesday morning and worked out for team personnel. He will not wear No. 34, as he did in his first stint as an Eagle. Fullback Jason Davis asked Mahe to keep his number.

Mahe made the team as an undrafted free agent in 2003 after an outstanding career as a wide receiver at BYU. The team quickly switched him to running back, and he found a niche in the return game, averaging 9.2 yards on six punt return opportunities. He became the teams full time-kickoff returner in 2006, averaging 22.23 yards on 30 returns.

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I don't think anybody would have ever actually been wishing that Reno Mahe was on their football team, but after the opening day disaster on special teams, many Eagles fans were doing just that. Luckily for Mahe, he will get a pass if he does not break any big returns. The only thing he has to really concern himself with, is make sure to catch the football. If Greg Lewis, and J.R. Reed were able to do that, they would have beaten Greenbay. So remember Reno, make sure to CATCH THE FOOTBALL.

The really sad thing about this, is that the Eagles have been unable to find a good solution to the return game in years. ever since Brian Mitchell left, the Eagles have tried, and failed with several players to get a good return game going. Dexter Wynn, James Thrash, Ryan Moats, Reno Mahe, Rod Hood, Jeremy Bloom, Bruce Perry, Lamar Gordon, Greg Lewis, and J.R. Reed have all been in that return game mix at one time since Mitchell left. None of these guys has been able to stick as the return specialist, for one reason or another, and this needs to be addressed next off season.

Mahe is an ok band aid for now, but after this season it is time to get a real returner. Somebody who not only secures the football well, but can do something with the ball after he fields it.


As mad as I am at J.R. Reed's boneheaded decision to run after that ball, I feel bad for him getting cut again. He has now been cut five times in the past year, including twice from the Eagles. He was a decent kick returner in 2004, and had that strange leg injury hopping a fence in the following off season. It is amazing that he has even stepped back on the field, and I hope he gets another chance on another team. You can be sure, it wont be as a punt returner.

Reno 911

After yesterday's nightmare on special teams, the Eagles are bringing in former Eagles Reno Mahe for a tryout today according to NBC10 Sports Anchor Vai Sikahema.

Mahe may never break a big one, but at least is reliable enough to field the ball without any issues. Vai also says the Eagles will bring in several other candidates for the job.

Expect a roster move to be done within the next few days. Greg Lewis, and J.R. Reed are prime suspects to be released.

UPDATE: Jeremy Bloom is also coming in for a workout.

Injury bug bites Sheppard

Lito Sheppard's 2007 season began exactly the way his 2006 season started and ended, and that's not a good thing for either the Eagles or their two-time Pro Bowl cornerback.

A three-way collision late in the first half with teammate Sean Considine and Green Bay Packers receiver Ruvell Martin left Sheppard with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Sheppard did not return to the Eagles' 16-13 loss, and coach Andy Reid said afterward that the cornerback would undergo an MRI examination today in Philadelphia.

"I took the mass of that collision, especially being on the bottom of it," Sheppard said. "Hopefully, it's nothing too serious. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. For some reason, the first game of the season the last two seasons, it's just been going this way. I'm going to bounce back."

Sheppard missed three games last year after suffering an ankle sprain in the Eagles' season opener against the Houston Texans, and he missed the team's playoff loss in New Orleans because of a dislocated elbow suffered the week before in a playoff game against the New York Giants.

The cornerback also missed the final six games in 2005 with a high ankle sprain.

Sheppard's NFL career started with an injury, too. He missed the first three games of his 2002 rookie season with a quad strain.

"You hate to see that happen to him," safety Brian Dawkins said. "That was one of the things we talked about as we were in the training room together in the preseason. We have to keep [Sheppard] healthy for the season."

With Sheppard out in the second half, William James became the starting cornerback opposite Sheldon Brown and Joselio Hanson moved into the nickel role. Hanson also left late in the game after suffering a mild concussion on a running play by Green Bay's Brandon Jackson.

>>PhiladelphiaInquirer

Special Teams Cost Birds

After a long wait, opening day turned out to be a disaster for the Birds.

The game started, and ended with two key special teams gaffs, and in between there was an ugly defensive battle.

Early in the first quarter, Greg Lewis muffed a punt that bounced around into the end zone recovered by Greenbay for a touchdown. Lewis clearly can not field punts, as he made two more near disasters on punts later in the game. He was replaced by J.R. Reed, who muffed a punt himself in the games final minute. A play that setup the game winning field goal.

Lewis, who last year got Ex-Packers CB Ahmad Carroll cut by beating him for two touchdowns, should probably be cut for this terrible performance. That might sound harsh, but maybe making an example out of him could wake this group up.

Donovan McNabb was just ok today. He moved fairly well, and did make some plays that resembled classic Super Five. He also threw a terrible interception, and had a few others that were luckily dropped.

I don't know if the Packers defense is really that good, or if the Eagles offense is just not all that great. There were only two big plays to speak of. A 37 yard strike to Kevin Curtis, and a 31 yard catch and run by Jason Avant. Outside of those 2 plays, there was very little offense to speak of.

The pass protection was very poor, and the running game was not much better. Credit the Fudge Packers for doing a good job on Brian Westbrook. The play calling was not very creative, and it seemed to really hurt them.

The biggest thing I noticed, was that the Packers were not respecting the Eagles play action at all. Almost every time they tried to hit a big play off play action, it actually gave the defense an extra second to get to McNabb.

L.J. Smith did play, but was very limited. Brent Celek saw a lot of playing time, but he did not catch one ball. Probably because he was kept in to pass protect a lot, which he did a bad job of. Andrews also played, but I did not notice any great blocks by Shawn. He usually has at least two or three of them a game.

The only silver lining in this dissapoiting loss, is the play of the defense. The scoreboard might say 17, but really they only gave up 3 points. The only Packers touchdown came off the Lewis muffed punt, one field goal was dude to a McNabb interception, and the final fg was due to J.R. Reed's muffed punt.

The defense did a really good job for the most part, but the Packers offense is not exactly a big test. Hopefully they can keep it up all season. The run defense was especially good, as they held rookie RB Brandon Jackson to only 40 yards on 15 carries. They also got after Favre, sacking him 5 times. Sheldon Brown had a great game, and got a nice interception. Sean Considine made a really nice play breaking up a deep pass.

One thing is for sure about this team. They certainly do not look like a Super Bowl contender. I know it is only week one, but I know every Eagles fan had this game circled as a W when they went over the schedule. This game was a very frustrating start, to what could be a frustrating season.

L.J. Smith Not Likely to Play

The uncertain condition of L.J. Smith's highly publicized groin became a little more uncertain yesterday.

After the Eagles went through their walk-through in preparation for today's season opener against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, an e-mail was sent out by the team saying that Smith's condition on the injury report had been downgraded from probable (a 75 percent chance that he would play) to questionable.

That means there is only a 50-50 chance that Smith will play today, which is far more in line with what the veteran tight end was saying after practice Friday. Smith did participate in yesterday's walk-through, which is typically a 30-minute half-speed refresher of the game plan.

Smith, a potential free agent after this season, did not play in the preseason after suffering a groin injury early in training camp. He had sat out the first few days of contact at Lehigh University because he was recovering from May 31 surgery to repair a sports hernia.

Eagles coach Andy Reid and Smith both have said the groin injury was unrelated to the sports hernia, but even if that is the case, it's obvious that the tight end is not entirely healthy as the team approaches the starting line.

If Smith is unable to go today, veteran Matt Schobel will be the starter at tight end and rookie Brent Celek, who had an impressive preseason, is likely to see quite a bit of playing time.

>>PhiladelphiaInquirer

75th Anniversary Team

The Eagles finally unveiled the complete 75th anniversary team. A few surprises, but a really good team overall. Each player/coach comes with their own video, and it is pretty cool I think. You can check it out on the Home Page.