Two offseasons in a row, Chip Kelly cut ties with one of his most explosive offensive players. After year one at the helm, he flat-out cut DeSean Jackson
after the brash wideout had his best professional season ever. And
yesterday, he traded Pro Bowl running back LeSean McCoy, just one season
removed from being the NFL’s leading rusher. For a guy who has not won a
single playoff game — though has won 20 games in his first two seasons
— it’s asking an awful lot.
In return for McCoy, the Eagles get a very talented, very young
linebacker in Kiko Alonso, an area they were desperately in need of. In
addition, it frees up even more cap space for Philadelphia, giving the
Eagles perhaps the most flexibility of any team in the NFL.
On the surface, the deal seems crazy. Throw in Chip’s propensity to
bring in former Oregon Ducks, like Alonso, and the move isn’t exactly
the most popular in Philadelphia. It’s doubly painful when losing a
player everyone seemed to like and everybody definitely enjoyed watching
play.
But running backs are a dime a dozen in the NFL, and the Eagles
needed help at the linebacker position. If Alonso is healthy, he’s one
of the best the league, and at just 24, he could be an anchor for a long
time. On top of that, the Eagles are in the best position of any
would-be contender to make waves in free agency — and the draft. I’m not
sure if I’m 100 percent sold on trading away so much talent every
offseason, but if there was a team in the NFL who could afford to make
such a bold move, it’s the Philadelphia Eagles. – The Rev
Last night, I attended the Eagles' second preseason game at the Linc, watching the Birds top the Panthers 14-9 in a relatively boring game.
But Michael Vick looked good yet again, and Nick Foles wasn't too shabby himself. Plus, the defense wasn't as atrocious, though playing Carolina and New England are two different beasts.
One thing that was very reassuring about the game was watching LeSean McCoy look fully healthy and as lethal as ever, including an easy trot into the end zone that ended, as it always does when LeSean scores, what I like to call the "Shady Bounce."
On Saturday night, I received a text asking if I was interested in going to the Lions-Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field yesterday. Naturally, I accepted, prepared to see the most frustrating division-leading team in the NFL take on one of the most undisciplined teams in the league.
It had the makings of a odd day to begin with, and an odd day it was indeed.
For starters, the temperature in Philadelphia was already in the 60s when I awoke, and it reached the 70-degree mark in the second weekend of October, a rarity in these part. It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day, truly short-sleeve weather. Couldn't ask for a better day to take in a game.
That is, if you could get to the game to begin with, which was a giant pain in the ass thanks to one of the most poorly run and patently absurd public transportation systems in the country.
If you live in or around Philadelphia, you've surely come across the overly optimistic I SEPTA Philly campaign, with commercials and ads from supposed everyday SEPTA riders praising Philadelphia's public transportation system. As an everyday SEPTA rider myself, I cannot help but laugh at the absurdity of it all, seeing as SEPTA is one of the dirtiest and inanely operated systems I've encountered in my lifetime. For christ's sake, SEPTA doesn't even have a smart card system, and it's 2012. That alone is evidence enough.
Anyway, thanks to the brilliant planning of SEPTA, the Market-Frankford el was consolidated to one track yesterday afternoon, meaning both eastbound and westbound trains were running on the same track. Thus, the trains were delayed and running behind as the westbound train had to wait for the eastbound train to pass by and vice versa. This was done on a Sunday on which the Eagles were hosting the Lions. Thousands of Philadelphians take the el and the subway to the Linc on an Eagles home game Sunday. The game has been scheduled for months. And yet SEPTA decided it was a good time to delay everyone. I can't make this stuff up.
As a result, not only was I waiting at the Girard platform for longer than usual, but I then was stopped and was left waiting on a motionless train for more than 15 minutes at 5th Street.
So what typically is a 20- to 30-minute trip tops from my door to the stadium took a solid hour. Philly most assuredly does not love SEPTA, trust me on that one.
Thankfully, we had left plenty early to do a little tailgating. It was a gorgeous day, and good times were had pregame. That, however, is when the good times ended because honestly, despite the one touchdown drive in the first half, the highlight of the game was the pre-game festivities.
From there, the game devolved into an ugly battle between two incredibly stupid football teams. You all saw the game, so there's no point in breaking down the play by play. But there are a few things worthy of discussion.
For starters, can we talk about how poorly coached and undisciplined these two football teams are for a minute? I mean, look at Detroit. The Lions committed 16 penalties yesterday, accounting for 132 yards. Sixteen penalties. In one game. Sixteen penalties and a turnover. That's a recipe for disaster, right? At least a recipe for a loss … Only the Lions wound up winning, because the Eagles out-dumbed one of the dumbest teams in the league.
How? In typical fashion: turnovers, horrid game-planning and baffling adjustments.
Let's take these in order, shall we? First, the turnovers, namely Michael Vick. Once again, the Eagles turned the ball over without any regard, as Vick threw two absolutely atrocious interceptions and also was involved in the lost fumble thanks to miscommunication with center Dallas Reynolds. Oh, and he also fumbled earlier in the game, but managed to recover his own fumble.
The one the Eagles actually lost happened due to confusion between Vick and Reynolds. I can't say with 100 percent certainly who was at most fault, though looking at the replays you do see Vick lift his leg slightly, which is typically the indication to the center that the quarterback is ready for the snap. It wasn't an exaggerated lift, which is the norm, but he did lift it slightly. On Monday Night Football a week or two ago, this happened, and Steve Young explained that he thought it was the fault of the quarterback for lifting his leg at all. If Young's logic is correct, I'd have to say this was a little more on Vick than Reynolds. Either way, it resulted in a turnover, one of three.
The other two were totally on Vick no matter how you look at it. His interceptions were not dropped or tipped. They were not miscommunication with the receivers. They were just poorly thrown balls at inopportune times, mistakes you simply cannot make on a weekly basis and expect to win. Finally, it caught up to Philadelphia and cost them.
Listen, I know that Vick is being hampered by an atrocious offensive line and that the play-calling isn't doing him any favors. But at the end of the day, the quarterback is responsible for the offense and especially taking care of the football. Right now, there isn't a player in the NFL who can even remotely enter the conversation with Vick as being the most careless with the football. It's like he doesn't think turnovers are a big deal at all. Through six games, Vick has turned the ball over 13 times. That's more than two turnovers a game by the player who has the ball in his hands more than anyone else. Frankly, it's a miracle this team is even .500 with a statistic like that.
Bottom line: Michael Vick is careless with the football, and he compounds it by making mental errors on top of that. Take the back-to-back sacks he took in overtime to essentially hand the game to the Lions. On the second, Vick had plenty of time to get rid of the ball, plenty of room to roll out and throw it away. Instead, he tried to do more than is humanly possibly and took a devastating sack. Michael Vick just does not play intelligent football. Truthfully, he only has for a seven-game stretch two years ago. You tell me which Michael Vick is the real one.
Now let's get to the ridiculous offensive game plan by Marty Mornhinweg and Andy Reid.
Heading into yesterday's game, the Eagles' two biggest offensive problems were clear as day: a struggling offensive line and a quarterback who cannot stop getting hit and turning the ball over. The easiest way to cut down on the pressure of the offensive line and cut down on the number of hits and potential turnovers for your quarterback is to come out and run the football. This allows your offensive line to actually push forward and attack defenders, giving them a little more aggression and confidence, and also gives your QB a little bit of a break. When you have one of the premier running backs in the NFL, all the better. Come out and pound the football. Feed it to your best player and ride with him.
Of course, we all know how much Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg hate to do this. Even though LeSean McCoy does typically get his touches, rarely do the Eagles come out and establish the run early to make things easier for Vick and the patchwork offensive line. They tend to lean on Shady more in the second half, which is all well and good when things are going well. However, it makes no sense to continually ignore your best offensive player to start a game, particularly when your offense is struggling, yet the Eagles keep doing it.
On the opening drive, a three and out, McCoy didn't get a touch. He then proceeded to get a grand total of seven carries the entire first half, despite the Eagles struggling to do anything until McCoy capped off a nice nine-play, 79-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown reception. In all, McCoy had just 14 rushing attempts. That is not enough, even if the Eagles were struggling to run block.
Of course, the Eagles did manage to take the lead before halftime and take a 10-point lead with five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter after three Alex Henery field goals and a 70-yard touchdown pass from Vick to Jeremy Maclin, with the Lions inexplicably deciding not to cover Maclin at all.
At that point, the Eagles looked poised to escape with another baffling victory despite those three turnovers, and a large contingent of fans seemed to think the same. At least, it seemed that way, because following Maclin's score, the Linc emptied. And I mean emptied. I've never seen an Eagles crowd dissipate so quickly with that much time left on the clock. And those who fled for their cars were actually lucky, since they didn't have to witness the Eagles completely unravel in those final five minutes.
That brings us to the bad adjustments portion of the game. For the majority of the game, the Eagles employed a scheme that saw Nnamdi Asomugha shadowing Calvin Johnson on nearly every play, and Nnamdi was having arguably his best game as a Philadelphia Eagle. Through three quarters, the game's best receiver had one catch for 28 yards. Nnamdi was all over him. Calvin really couldn't get open. Asomugha finally looked like the guy the Eagles thought they were signing. I was marveling at his play all game.
But then, with the Eagles trying to protect a 10-point lead late, Juan Castillo suddenly switched up his entire defensive scheme. While it's true that the underachieving defensive line could not get to Matthew Stafford to save their lives yet again yesterday, the defense wasn't playing poorly. Then, all of a sudden, Castillo decided to dial up the blitz … and even more baffling stop having Asomugha shadow Johnson on every play.
Several times in the fourth quarter, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie found himself matched up with Megatron, and seemingly every time that happened, Stafford went Johnson's way. The result? Five catches for 107 yards in the fourth quarter alone for Calvin to finish with 135 yards on the day, and almost all of those catches coming with DRC covering him, not Nnamdi.
Finally, Asomugha was utilized the way he was in Oakland for nearly an entire game and was actually living up to his reputation, and Juan takes him off his assignment at the most critical juncture of the game. It just made no sense, and it's a big reason why the defense fell apart in the fourth quarter. I didn't understand it then, and I don't understand it now. If I was Asomugha, I'd be upset too.
Give Detroit credit for overcoming their own mistakes and capitalizing on Philadelphia's. But also admonish this team and its coaches.
Every year, it gets less and less fun being an Eagles fan, and it's largely because they just make it so hard to like them. The offensive line is a complete joke right now. There literally isn't one lineman playing well at all. Demetress Bell stinks. Dallas Reynolds stinks. Danny Watkins looks like he just isn't strong enough to play in the NFL. Evan Mathis has struggled. And Todd Herremans is playing the worst football of his Eagles career. Howard Mudd has a lot of work cut out for him. The absence of Jason Peters and Jason Kelce has really hurt this unit to a point that looks beyond repair right now.
And it's not much better on the other side of the ball. This defensive line that ran roughshod over the league last season and looked like the biggest strength of the unit in first three weeks has been completely nonexistent the past three weeks. As in, the Eagles, with Trent Cole and Jason Babin and a slew of alleged pass rushers, hasn't gotten a sack since there third quarter of the week three loss to Arizona. Jim Washburn's unit has been underachieving for weeks, and it continued yesterday. You can count the number of times the line even got close to Stafford yesterday on one hand. It was a pathetic showing once again. Perhaps the wide nine has been figured out. Whatever the case, Washburn needs to correct things in a hurry.
The good news is that the Eagles are just a game behind the New York Giants in the division and have already defeated their rivals up north. Plus, the Birds have a bye week coming up, meaning that I don't have to watch this team I hate next week and also that they have extra time to figure things out moving forward. And as infuriating as Andy Reid is, he always has his team prepared following the bye week.
The bad news is I wasted hours upon hours of my life yesterday. First, it was the horrifying trip to the game. Then it was the four-hour overtime loss itself, with the game not even ending until 5 p.m. And then of course, there was the trip home, which was even more horrible than the ride there.
You see, SEPTA runs special game day express trains on the subway during sporting events in South Philly. Catching the express, I only have to take it to the second stop at City Hall before transferring over to the el. It's literally a two-minute ride. I mean, it's usually only a two-minute ride.
However, as the subway took off, it suddenly stopped at the Ellsworth-Federal station, not one of the express stops. And I don't mean stopped to let people on and off. I mean stopped, stopped. Then there was announcement that there would be a slight delay. According to SEPTA, a slight delay is 20 minutes. Express train my ass.
So there we sat. And sat. And sat. All of us miserable, and all of us just wanting to get the fuck home and try to forget about that ugly loss. Again, it took me another hour to get from the stadium to my house thanks to SEPTA being SEPTA.
So yeah, I SEPTA Philly too, and from the bottom of my heart I'd like to say fuck you, SEPTA. Fuck you for real.
I'm not sure what infuriates me more these days, the Eagles or the public transportation in my city. Dumb and dumber indeed.
I can't believe I haven't given LeSean McCoy a spot here yet this season given that he's awesome and pretty much the only player on the team I've genuinely enjoyed watching all year long, so here's Shady with a couple dances against the two teams ahead of the Eagles in the NFC East standings right now.
And here's a highlight reel that I'm sure has a couple Shady dances in it as well just for the hell of it.
This was one hell of an eventful weekend here in Philadelphia. Saturday was jam-packed with action, as the Flyers hosted the Bruins, Temple took on Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl in football while the basketball team headed to Austin to take on Texas, and Villanova traveled down Lancaster Avenue to St. Joe's for this year's rendition of the Holy War.
Then, the Eagles took on the Jets yesterday to try and keep their playoff hopes alive, and in between, Jimmy Rollins re-signed with the Phillies and Matt McGloin got punched out by teammate Curtis Drake and suffered a seizure.
After a relatively sports-free Friday night, I awoke on Saturday to a text message from my buddy at 10 a.m. that simply read, "Flyers/Bruins at 1. You in?" That might as well have been a rhetorical question, because of course I was in.
As I was waiting for my friend to get out of work and pick me up, I nabbed a couple hoagies from Slack's and got ready for a busy day of sports. Running a bit behind, we got to our seats just as the puck was being dropped … and literally as I plopped my ass into my seat, the Bruins scored the first of many goals in a 6-0 route.
Nothing was going right for the Flyers at all. They couldn't make a simple pass, couldn't defend whatsoever, couldn't really do anything. The only guy on the ice that looked remotely alive was Max Talbot.
Ilya Bryzgalov got hung out to dry on most of the four first-period goals he let in, though he also let in a huge softy by Zdeno Chara.
Chara, by the way, was an absolute force on the ice in his first game back in about a week. While the Flyers were missing their big defenseman, Chara showed up and dominated. He had a goal and an assist, both power play points, completely shut down any and all Flyers' chances, and also rabbit-punched Jody Shelley to death in a fight.
Now, even though Shelley clearly was bested by the enormous Chara, I'll take that trade 100 times out of 100. It's way more detrimental to the Bruins to lose Chara for five minutes than it is for the Flyers to lose Shelley for five minutes. Although that really wasn't the case here, as the Bruins scored almost immediately following that and forced the Flyers into perhaps the worst period of hockey they've played all season.
To make matters even worse, Sean Couturier took a Kimmo Timonen slap shot right off the head, dropped to the ice and laid motionless for a while. It was a frightening scene that added to the already worrisome head injuries sustained to Chris Pronger, Claude Giroux and Brayden Schenn.
Thankfully Couturier did get up and skate off under his own power, but he clearly didn't look right. He was taken to the hospital and stayed overnight, and he's currently listed as day to day. Hopefully he's OK. As I've said before, Couturier has become one of my favorite players on the team. In fact, I was just telling my friend on the way down to the arena that Couturier sort of reminds me of a young Rod Brind'Amour, minus the face-off dominance. He's incredibly responsible defensively, a tremendous penalty-killer, and while he doesn't have incredible speed or awe-inspiring puck-handling skills, you can see he has the scoring touch to development into a pretty decent goal scorer. Plus, he's only 19, so he's only going to get better.
Beyond wishing him a quick recovery, his injury also brings more concern over the PK. Without Giroux and Couturier, the Flyers are without two of their top four PK forwards — not exactly good for the team that leads the NHL in minor penalties.
We knew it was only a matter of time before the injuries would harm the Flyers at least for one game. Saturday, that was the case, and that first period was about as disastrous as it gets. With a few minutes left in the 2nd, as it became clear the Flyers really had nothing to generate a comeback and fell behind 5-0, we departed so we could watch the Temple action.
I checked in on Temple's bowl game and saw the Owls were trouncing Wyoming behind a big game by Bernard Pierce. Thus, I focused my attention on the basketball team's game in Texas. Early on, things were going well with Temple leading virtually the entire first half against a young Texas team. But then they let the Longhorns go on a run and tie it before Khaliff Wyatt hit a tough three at the buzzer to put Temple up 3 at half.
Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there. The Owls couldn't buy a buck and Texas got out in transition rather easily to pull away. To make matters worse, Juan Fernandez limped off the court after getting tangled up. Ugly all around, though not as ugly as the what I was seeing on Twitter — that Penn State wide receiver Curtis Drake punched out his quarterback Matt McGloin in the locker room after practice and that McGloin suffered a seizure.
Not good. At all. The football program clearly could have done without this as the Nittany Lions prepare for their Jan. 2 bowl match-up with Houston given all the turmoil this season. Damn.
That was a pretty bad start to Saturday, but good news was sprinkled in. Beyond Temple winning its bowl game, news also circulated the Jimmy Rollins re-signed with the Phillies, keeping him in the only professional uniform he's ever worn for at least three more years.
Then, we were all given a tightly contested first half between Villanova and St. Joe's before the Hawks trounced Nova in the second half behind the shooting of Langston Galloway and Carl Jones, and especially the shot-blocking of C.J. Aiken.
Aiken, who had four blocks Saturday night, leads the nation in blocks, averaging an insane 4.7 blocks per game. This is fascinating to me. I had the opportunity to watch Aiken play a few times in high school for Plymouth Whitemarsh. He was clearly a very good player and used his size and length to block shots, but I never thought he'd turn into the premier shot-blocker in the nation in college. Yet that's exactly what he's become this year, absolutely owning the paint and altering shots.
On Saturday, you could see the Wildcats were hesitant to challenge Aiken inside. The sophomore, who set a St. Joe's freshman record for blocks last year, was in Nova's head all night long, and he was a big reason the Hawks blew away the Cats in the second half.
It's clear that St. Joe's is the real deal and will be among the A-10's best teams, on par with Temple and St. Louis behind Xavier. And this game showed that right now, Villanova is at best the third best team in the city.
Yesterday was a little less crazy, though plenty exciting. The Redskins went out and upset the Giants pretty easily, giving the Eagles' slim playoff hopes a boost. Then the Eagles went out and trounced the Jets at the Linc despite their best efforts to allow New York back in the game.
After going up 28-0 behind a defensive touchdown and an interception by Asante Samuel, the Eagles started their own turnover brigade to put the Jets back in it. But it didn't matter. LeSean McCoy continued his MVP-type season, scoring three touchdowns and gaining 102 yards to break the franchise record for single-season touchdowns and rushing touchdowns, passing Steven Van Buren for both.
McCoy has 20 touchdowns on the season, 17 on the ground, setting new franchise marks. The man is incredible.
Brent Celek also had a huge game, hauling in five catches for 156 yards and a score.
But even more impressive than the offense in this 45-19 win was again the defense. Suddenly, the Birds don't look as horrid on that side of the ball as they have for most of the year.
The Eagles held the Jets to just 241 yards of offense, forced four turnovers and got the off field on third down time and time again. Jason Babin had three sacks. The secondary looked really good. And Casey Matthews even had a nice game, flying all over the field and making plays. It was crazy, almost like these guys care about playing defense all the sudden.
Even more crazy, the Eagles really are alive for the playoffs despite this whirlwind of a season, though they still need help. First and foremost, the Birds have to win their remaining two games, next week at Dallas and home against the Skins on New Year's Day. Then the Jets have to beat the Giants next week, followed by the Giants beating the Cowboys in week 17. Still a lot that has to happen, and probably still unlikely, but certainly not impossible. Unreal.
Watch this be the dumb year where the Eagles back in and then win the whole damn thing. Wouldn't that piss off everyone after a steady chorus of "Fire Andy!"?
I can't even believe this team has even a remote chance at the postseason, yet here were are. Crazy.
A week ago, I was on a sports high: the Flyers won in impressive fashion, Penn State remained undefeated in conference play despite its offense and the Eagles put it on the Cowboys, finally looking like the team everyone expected them to be.
Heading into the NHL season, I had my reservations about the Flyers after overhauling the roster. Penn State has been so hard to watch that I had to believe they'd lose some game they shouldn't. And the Eagles were so dreadful early on that it was hard to fathom them turning it around. Last weekend helped me reverse my thinking a bit, with the Flyers playing pretty good hockey early in the season, Penn State still finding ways to win, and the Eagles looking poised for their annual late-season run thanks to that demolition of the Cowboys following the bye week.
Things were finally starting to look up. There Penn State sat as the only undefeated team in Big Ten play, and the Eagles pulled themselves right back into the thick of the NFC East race.
One week later, and the doubt has crept back in. The entire university is in shock for Penn State, and you can't help but wonder if these damning allegations will derail the Nittany Lions' run toward the first ever Big Ten Championship Game. And the Eagles just put forth a sloppy, undisciplined game against a Bears team that tried to give the game away, losing 30-24 at home on Monday night.
What a difference a week makes.
Against the Cowboys, the Eagles dominated every facet of the game. Offensively, Michael Vick was as sharp as he's ever been, the receivers were making plays and LeSean McCoy continued to establish himself as one of the best running backs in the league. Defensively, Juan Castillo let his cornerbacks loose, completely shutting down Dallas' passing attack, and the rest of the unit followed suit. Nothing could go wrong.
Last night, none of that was the case. There wasn't a single player on defense who had a good game, and the only guy who even looked competent was Kurt Coleman. The defensive line didn't get any pressure on Jay Cutler despite going against a line that has let its quarterback get killed all season long. In fact, the only time they even touched Cutler, Jason Babin was called for a questionable roughing the passer penalty.
A week after putting forth their best effort of the year, the linebackers reverted to their previous ways, getting run through by Matt Forte and getting burnt in coverage against the do-it-all back. On the opening drive, the Bears just ran it right down Philadelphia's throat. And the corners played awful all damn night.
To be fair, Asante Samuel was having a strong game most of the night. Jay Cutler spent a lot of the game going to Asante's man, and for the most part, he did an excellent job in coverage. But on the Bears' go-ahead touchdown in the 4th quarter, Asante got burnt badly, and I'm not even sure what the hell he was doing. However, at least Asante was fired up and into the game. The same cannot be said about Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
I keep hearing about how DRC is perhaps the best athlete on the team, how his defensive teammates are in awe of his natural ability. But you know what? None of that matters one bit if you don't give a damn, and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie does not give two shits about playing football this season. Maybe he isn't happy being a nickel corner and can't get comfortable in his role here, but that doesn't excuse his complete indifference on the field. Watch any game except last week, and it's clear he isn't coming close to giving his full effort out on the field. Last night, he gave up on at least 6 plays, once letting a guy completely go and not even remotely trying to make a tackle after giving up a reception.
It's reached the point where he shouldn't even be allowed on the field with that type of pathetic effort. He's insulting his teammates and the fans with what he's doing out there. I mean, it really does look like he's not even trying. He should be ashamed of himself.
And Nnamdi, well, he just hasn't been what we expected. Against Dallas, he was awesome. And last night, he generally took away Devin Hester or whoever else he was covering, as Cutler avoided throwing his way for the most part. But when the Eagles really needed him to make a play, just to not give up a play actually, he got called for a pass interference penalty against Johnny Knox on a 3rd-and-11 with 5 minutes left, allowing the Bears to milk more clock before kicking the field goal that put them 7.
That was a theme for the night, the Eagles not getting off the field on third down.
On offense, it was LeSean McCoy and Brent Celek but no one else. The receivers were terrible all night, with DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin dropping balls the entire game. Vick played about as stupid as you can, literally throwing balls right to Chicago defenders. He's lucky as hell he only got picked off once, a terrible throw that looked like Lance Briggs actually was his intended target. There was a stretch of games last year where Vick really looked like an evolved quarterback, but he's back to playing stupid football with boneheaded decisions excluding last week's game.
Then there was all the normal high jinks we've come to expect. DeSean Jackson fumbled a punt with a minute left in the half, leading to a Chicago touchdown. After taking a 24-17 lead on a 33-yard run by LeSean McCoy with 5:521 remaining in the third quarter, Shady only touched the ball three more times all game. Three. Your best player only got the ball three times in the final 20 minutes of the game even though the Eagles had a lead heading into the 4th quarter. Following a field goal by Robbie Gould that made it 24-20, the Eagles came out and called three straight passing plays before punting. They were winning. In the 4th quarter. With their best player being their running back. And they didn't run the ball once with that lead in the final quarter. That's what you call terrible coaching.
Then there was the Eagles using a timeout with the clock stopped after an incomplete pass, trailing with four minutes left. And who can forget Chas Henry's laughable pass attempt on that fake field goal?
Colt Anderson was wide open. No one covered him as the Eagles lined up for the punt. All Henry had to do was get the ball to him and it was a sure first down to continue the drive with a chance to tie the game. But he underthrew him by at least 5 yards, and the game was over. Unreal.
It looked just like the Eagles prior to the Washington game. The Bears were literally trying to give the game away. Matt Forte, who did gash the Birds for 133 yards on the ground, fumbled twice. He never fumbles, yet he did twice. Still the Eagles couldn't win.
Last week, they could do no wrong. Last night, they couldn't do anything right.
Just a week ago, hell just a few days ago, Penn State and the Eagles looked to be in good position. Now they're both scrambling in one form or another.
When I got home from work Friday evening, I had absolutely nothing planned for the entire Halloween weekend — nothing to do, nowhere to be, no parties to attend or people I planned to hang out with. Honestly, I thought it would be a low-key, boring weekend filled with watching movies and sports but not much else.
Next thing you know, I end up at a strip club on Friday, the Flyers-Hurricanes game on Saturday and the Eagles-Cowboys game last night, with lots of bodily harm in between. Talk about a healthy dose of treats.
As I'm sitting on my couch relaxing Friday night, my buddy Tommy calls me and says he's going to the Flyers game Saturday night and wanted to meet up afterward to get drunk. Not 20 minutes later, Adam EatShit calls to see what I'm up to for the night … and adds, "Oh, I forgot I got Flyers tickets for tomorrow — want to go?" Of course I say yes. And to celebrate the occasion, Adam came over to watch game 7 of the World Series with me and my roommate. We headed down to the bar after a few innings, proceeded to drink and take back a few shots, and next thing you know we're at the local hole-in-the-wall strip club entirely too early after the Cardinals finish off the Rangers to win another World Series title.
Surprisingly, I felt fine the next day when I awoke, getting some things done before Penn State kicked off at 3:30. Tommy showed up at my house right before the game and we sat and watched one of the most horrific offensive games in the history of ever. Missed field goals, botched snaps, and quarterbacks who could not complete a pass to save their lives. In fact, one of them literally could not complete a single pass, and if you've been paying attention to Penn State at all this year, it's not very difficult to figure out who.
Listen, Matt McGloin is not a perfect quarterback — far from it. Truthfully, I don't even like McGloin. But the fact of the matter is that Matt McGloin is an infinitely better passer than Rob Bolden. There is no disputing this. Even in a game where McGloin is just absolutely dreadful, completing just 9-24 for 98 yards and an interception, he is still light years better than Bolden. This has been firmly established throughout the season. It's plain for everyone to see. And after McGloin took every snap and played extremely well at Northwestern, it looked as though the Penn State coaching staff had finally admitted as much.
Then this putrid game happened, with Bolden playing nearly the entire second quarter and looking as horrible as ever. Enough is enough already. Listen, I have been a guy who was firmly entrenched in the "let Joe go whenever the hell he wants" camp. Joe Paterno is Penn State football. He made the university and the football program what it is today. But this whole quarterback debacle has finally pushed me over the edge. Joe must step aside for the good of the program. The fact that he will not use his position to make McGloin the guy 100 percent of the way, now 9 games into the season, is absolutely indefensible and proof that it's time for the epic Joe Paterno era to end. It's painful to admit, because I honestly love the guy, but he's about to turn 85 and won't do the things a head coach has to do. The time has come. Simple as that.
Anyway, back to the game at hand. If it wasn't for Silas Redd, Penn State would not have been able to move the ball at all. Thankfully, Redd is on this team, and he is now establishing himself as the best running back in the Big Ten. He was Penn State's offense Saturday, gaining 137 yards on 30 carries and scoring the game-winning touchdown.
It took the Penn State running game a few games to get going, but ever since the Iowa game, the offensive line has been moving people off the ball and Redd has done the rest. It's not every day that a school loses its all-time leading rusher and actually gets stronger at the position, but Redd is on his way to making people forget Evan Royster was as good as he was. The guy is just dynamite to watch.
Sadly, I didn't see the final drive of the game live, the one good one, but I did listen to it. That's because we were in the car on the way to the Flyers game as it was taking place, with Derek Moye coming in in an emergency role with his foot injury and getting things going with a 20-yeard catch on the first play of that game-winning drive.
And while Redd was the offensive hero and Moye did his best Willis Reed impersonation, it was the defense that truly won this game. And it is because of this defense that the Nittany Lions, despite looking absolutely horrific on offense at times this season, sit at 8-1 and are the only Big Ten team undefeated in conference play.
Devon Still may be the best player in the entire conference. He's certainly in the conversation. Every game he plays, he ups his draft stock, to the point where he's knocking on the door of the top 10. Saturday, he was outstanding again — 10 tackles, 3.5 for loss and a sack. He is an absolute monster.
And his fellow starting defensive tackle is not too shabby either. Jordan Hill had himself a day as well, also notching 10 tackles, including one for a loss. The way these two guys are playing rivals any defensive tackle pairing I've ever seen at Penn State. The only one that comes immediately to mind to rival Hill and Still is Jimmy Kennedy and Anthony Adams, but these two have been even more disruptive than I remember Adams and Kennedy being. It's nice to have two interior d-linemen who can dominate.
Speaking of dominating, holy hell has Gerald Hodges emerged since Michael Mauti went down. Fresh off winning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, all Hodges did for an encore performance was rack up 19 tackles, force a fumble, break up two passes and register a sack. Good god, he is starting to show Navorro Bowman-like flashes out there. It's fun seeing him mature before our very eyes, especially given how he sometimes looked lost early in the season. Not anymore. Gerald Hodges is playing some fantastic football right now.
As is the entire defense. Drew Astorino made some great plays Saturday, and he's rebounded nicely this year after a couple down seasons. He always seems like he's in position to make the play this year. Nick Sukay absolutely laid the wood on a couple plays and helped change momentum. D'Anton Lynn had an interception as he gets back into game shape. And the defense again carried an embarrassing effort by the offense to stave off a loss and remain in the driver's seat in the Leaders division. In fact, unbelievably, Penn State has a two-game cushion in the loss column in the Leaders division. With Wisconsin's loss to Ohio State, Penn State sits at 5-0 in the Big Ten with Ohio State, Wisconsin and Purdue tied for second in the Leaders division at 2-2. Try and wrap your head around that.
It was a relief to hear Penn State won, and the timing was perfect. Just as the game ended, we parked and headed in to the Flyers game, where old friend Brian Boucher was in net for Carolina.
That was unfortunate for Boucher, because the Flyers came out angry after their pathetic 9-8 loss to the Jets, and then put it on the Canes in the 3rd period.
It was nice to see the Flyers and Ilya Bryzgalov respond with a 5-1 thumping, outshooting the Canes 34-25 and surrendering just one goal one game after letting 9 go by. Bryz was excellent in net, stopping everything he could. The lone goal that he surrendered was largely Scott Hartnell's fault — Hartnell tried to make a diving poke check and instead slid about 15 yards and rammed right into his goaltender, leaving Bryz down and out for Jussi Jokinen.
Though Hartnell did his part, opening the scoring on the night thanks to a nice feed by Claude Giroux, and that theme continued. Giroux and Jaromir Jagr have been playing well together all season, but ever since Peter Laviolette replaced James van Riemsdyk with Scott Hartnell, that top line has taken things to even greater heights. Hartnell, who was struggling for ice time earlier in the year, is now getting a ton of minutes and found his scoring touch again. Jagr looks every bit like the first-ballot Hall-of-Famer he is and nothing like a 39-year-old who has been away from the NHL, and Giroux has simply blossomed into one the best players in the entire NHL.
On Saturday night, that line scored 4 of the 5 Flyers' goals, with Hartnell and Giroux each scoring once and Jagr netting two, including this highlight-reel beauty.
In all, Hartnell, Giroux and Jagr combined for 9 points on the night and were a combined plus-10. That line might score 500 freakin goals this year, it's that good. Watching Jagr and Giroux work together is truly remarkable, and the sky is the limit for any line that has those two unreal playmakers on it.
Max Talbot added a shorthanded goal as well to cap off the scoring, and the defense was stout all night, yielding just 25 shots. Really nice way to rebound from that travesty of a game the other night.
Afterward, Tommy and I headed out to Center City with his sister, brother-in-law and met up with our other friend at McGlinchey's.
McGlinchey's is a rarity in the City of the Brotherly Love — a bar that allows smoking inside. Now, I don't smoke, but I've never been opposed to smoking in bars. The two just seem go hand in hand. And McGlinchey's is the spot for the smokers who want to smoke indoors. There we drank in celebration and were even treated to free apples. That's right, the guy who checks IDs was giving out apples.
After that, it was off to Good Dog for a few more, a stop for some late-night pizza and then bed.
I had planned on relaxing all Sunday and watching the Eagles-Cowboys game in solitude at night. My roommates had tickets to the game, and I was perfectly content to watch the game in the warmth and comfort of my own home. Then a little after noon, I hear my phone ring as I'm brushing my teeth in the bathroom. When I get to it, there's a missed call and a text from Arkansas Fred offering me a ticket to the game. Only an idiot would decline such an offer.
I spent the rest of the day semi-watching the terrible early games and taking an insanely long nap before finally heading down to the Linc around 7.
Even though Andy Reid was 12-0 after a regular-season bye as head coach of the Eagles, I went into the game believing the Eagles would lose a close game. I just thought that the stout Dallas defense would be able to make enough stops and that Jason Witten would have his usual big game against the Eagles. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Last night, everything clicked for the Eagles. Finally, they looked like the team everyone envisioned when they brought in a slew of talent in the offseason, while Dallas looked like the Eagles did during their foibles this season only worse.
Before you could blink, it was 14-0 after 15 minutes of play and 24-0 at halftime, and the Birds never looked back. They completely dominated every phase of the game, looking far superior for 4 quarters. For a while, it even looked like this much-maligned defense would pitch a shutout until a coverage breakdown and missed play by Kurt Coleman allowed Laurent Robinson to score. It was unreal.
This game was easily one of the finest coaching performances of Andy Reid's career. Everything he instilled in the game plan worked to perfection, and the guy even went 2-for-2 on challenges. You know things are going well when Andy Reid wins not only one, but two challenges in the same game. I'm not sure he's won two challenges in an entire season prior to last night. It was so amazing to witness that at one point near the end of the first half Adam sent me this text:
We are running the ball, he won a challenge and they have 2 timeouts remaining. Who are these people?
The better question is where has this team been. I mean, it was honestly a nearly flawless performance. Mike Vick had by far his best game of the season, competing 21 of 28 for 279 and two scores and not turning the ball over once. He was hitting everyone in stride and honestly only made one or two poor throws all night long. He was spreading it around to all his weapons, particularly reestablishing Brent Celek as a receiving threat. In fact, Celek had the best game he's had in a long time, leading the Eagles with 7 catches for 94 yards and a touchdown.
Though as good as Vick and Celek were, the offense was led once again by LeSean McCoy, who continues to be the best player on the field week in and week out.
Wisely, Andy and Marty have been calling McCoy's number more and more, and the third-year running back is rewarding his coaches. McCoy had 185 yards on 30 carries last night and two touchdowns. He's reached the point where he absolutely must get 20-plus carries and 25-plus touches every week. And he's now even reaching the point where he's firmly in the conversation of best running back in the NFL. I know there isn't anyone I'd rather have on this team right now than LeSean, not the way he's playing this year. Honestly, I feel like he's been the best player every single game the Eagles have played this year, for either team.
Though it wasn't just the offense doing the heavy lifting in this one. After weeks and weeks and weeks of fans and pundits alike begging Juan Castillo to let his insanely talented cornerbacks play man coverage, the Eagles went out and played man coverage practically the entire game. The result? By far the best defensive performance of the season, holding the Cowboys to just seven meaningless late-game points, just 267 yards of offense and forcing a turnover.
This year, we've grown accustomed to everyone on defense pretty much contributing to the losses and blown leads. Last night, everyone contributed to the win. Jamar Chaney and Brian Rolle put forth easily the most impressive showing out of the linebackers this year, particularly in blanketing Jason Witten. Witten, often being covered by Chaney or Nnamdi Asomugha, had just four catches for 28 yards. Considering Tony Gonzalez absolutely torched the Eagles, I thought Witten would have a huge game. He did not, thanks to Castillo's game plan.
All night long, Castillo let Asante Samuel, Nnamdi and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie go man, and they completely shut down the passing game. Dez Bryant and Miles Austin were invisible. And really, the majority of Tony Romo's 203 yards through the air came on the one 70-yard touchdown pass to Laurent Robinson, a result of a blown assignment and late reaction by Coleman.
Finally, Castillo let his talented corners do what they do, and it had a profound effect. Nnamdi looked like the best or second-best cornerback in the league as he was touted to be, blanketing everyone he was assigned to and coming up with his second interception of the season. Asante did just as good a job, even making a few tackles. And DRC had his most productive game as an Eagle as well.
Add in the defensive line picking up 4 more sacks and clogging the running lanes — Dallas had just 85 yards rushing, with DeMarco Murray gaining just 74 yards a week after setting a franchise record — and you had yourself a complete team effort.
That was the team everyone expected heading into the season, and if they can somehow keep it going, the Eagles could just turn what looked to be a lost season three weeks ago around. Hell, the Birds are just two game behind the Giants, and it's not inconceivable that New York could fall back to the pack. The G-men are a lot like Penn State, a team that looks horrible but finds a way to win. However, if the Eagles can play to the level they did last night, they could easily rattle off a nice winning streak and be right in the thick of it. Given where this team was prior to the Washington win, I wasn't sure they could get there.
In a weekend devoid of tricks and full of treats, being at the Linc to watch the Birds blow out the Cowboys as Andy Reid and Juan Castillo completely outcoached Jason Garrett and Roy Ryan was the best treat of all. So was watching my favorite Eagle of all time, Eric Allen, get honored at halftime.
I'm gonna celebrate by eating a shit ton of candy tonight.
Three sporting events dominated my weekend: Penn State hosting Purdue, the Flyers hosting the Kings and the Eagles taking on the Redskins. In all three instances, things I just don't understand kept happening.
I don't understand Penn State still insisting on playing two quarterbacks now seven games into the season. I don't understand why some people felt the need to boo Mike Richards every time he touched the puck. And I don't understand anything about the Eagles at all.
Let's start with Penn State's hideous 23-18 victory over Purdue, which had plenty more things I just don't understand beyond the quarterback situation — though that's exactly where we must start.
I'm as guilty as anyone in flip-flopping on the Rob Bolden vs. Matt McGloin debate. After the Alabama game, I was convinced Bolden was the guy. But as the season has gone on, it's become abundantly clear in my eyes that McGloin is the better option. Chris Spielman and Urban Meyer both endorsed McGloin as impartial outside observers, and everyone who watches this team outside of the locker room sees the same thing: the offense moves the ball better and has more confidence with McGloin under center.
After outshining Bolden for weeks and essentially finishing off the game against Iowa in the second half, damn near everyone thought the quarterback carousel would finally be over. McGloin is the starter, Bolden the backup and that's that. So of course on Saturday, Rob Bolden trots out for the opening series and handles the duties in the first quarter as usual, and the carousel continues. Unreal.
Bolden led Penn State down the field on its first scoring possession with two big plays through the air, both to Brandon Moseby-Felder, but after that, he looked lost yet again. Those were his only two completions of the game, and the offense really couldn't do anything with him in the game after that.
McGloin on the other hand led Penn State on the remainder of its scoring drives, and the coaches clearly showed more confidence in him by dialing up much more pass plays for the junior. Don't get me wrong, McGloin is far from perfect at this point. His numbers weren't very good (8-17 for 145) and he threw an absolutely horrible, stupid interception, but it's clear this offense moves better with him out there. I don't understand why a team that is still in the mix in the Big 10 continues to rotate quarterbacks. I just don't.
One explanation that was given during the game is that Joe Paterno said one of his biggest coaching regrets is the way he handled the Pat Devlin-Darryl Clark situation, in which he ultimately picked Clark as the starter, which led Devlin to transfer to Delaware. Obviously it would have been nice to keep Devlin around, especially to be the unquestioned starter as a fifth-year senior last season. But the simple fact that Paterno regrets how he handled the decision to go with Darryl Clark proves to me that Joe really can't be involved in the big decisions anymore. How could a coach regret picking a guy who won a Big 10 title and had two 11-win seasons? He made the right choice picking Clark, and he needs to make a choice for this team. Yet he won't and it's hurting the offense far more than it's helping.
I also don't understand, even though it worked, why on earth Penn State went for it on 4th-and-1 with less than 2 minutes left and up 5 at the Purdue 10 instead of kicking the chip shot field goal to go up 8. I know Penn State picked up the first and won the game, and I know that Penn State's defense is good, but if they would have been stopped, Purdue could have won the game with a touchdown. And as hard as it is to score on this Penn State defense, Purdue would have had more than a minute and a half left, and the Boilermakers had hit on some big plays already. All it would have taken was a stop and one big play for Purdue to upset Penn State. Had they kicked the field goal to go up 8, there was virtually no possible way the Nittany Lions could lose in regulation. Baffling decision to me, even though it worked.
I also don't understand how tossing a ball up in the air after a big play because you're excited constitutes unsportsmanlike conduct, but that's what happened Chaz Powell, a la Jake Locker.
What I do understand is that Silas Redd is turning into everything expected of him. The sophomore running back had his third straight 100-yard game, proving to be a workhorse and Penn State's best offensive player with 131 yards on 28 carries. After a slow start to the season, the offensive line is finally giving Redd some holes to run through, and he's making the most of them. That guy is good.
I also understand that Justin Brown has star potential. With Derek Moye out, Brown stepped up to lead Penn State with 4 catches for 86 yards, including an absolutely sensational catch before McGloin threw his inexplicable interception.
He is definitely my favorite player on this team.
I also have to give huge praise to Anthony Fera. After doing his time for some off-the-field trouble, the do-it-all kicker/punter is showing why he was so highly regarded coming out of high school. Fera once again hit all three field goals, continuing to be perfect this season, boomed a few kickoffs and averaged 44.5 yards per punt, including an absolutely awesome 69-yarder that was downed at the Purdue 1 on a nice play by Nick Sukay.
And as always, Devon Still and Jordan Hill were beasts, though the defense wasn't on its A game this week. And that game was incredibly painful to watch. A not very good Purdue team hung with Penn State for 60 minutes. That's not good. I have to think this is the worst 6-1 team I've ever seen. For real.
I honestly couldn't wait for the game to be over just so I no longer had to watch it. Viewing Penn State is extremely unpleasant right now, even with that 6-1 record.
Thankfully I had something other than drinking to look forward to because for a nightcap I attended Mike Richards' homecoming to Philadelphia.
It was, of course, a homecoming for several former Flyers, as the Kings employ Justin Williams, Simon Gagne, Terry Murray, John Stevens and Ron Hextall in addition to the former captain. And as it turns out, the former Flyers had a huge hand in the outcome, with Justin Williams scoring two goals, Gagne notching an assist and Richards setting up the overtime game-winner in vintage Mike Richards fashion.
The game itself was a good, tough contest. Even though the Flyers suffered their first loss of the season, they still picked up a point, played a pretty good game and lost a tough one to a good team. Danny Briere and Matt Carle both tallied on the power play, and the Flyers had plenty of chances, outshooting the Kings 34-26. But they just couldn't quite finish it off.
The game itself was sort of secondary to be honest. This was more about Richards' return and the reaction he would get. When he was named as a starter prior to the game, he got a pretty nice ovation. After the first stoppage in play, the Flyers then put up on the jumbotron a note welcoming Richards back along with an announcement from the PA system. That's when he received a rousing, thrilling standing ovation from the crowd, us Flyers fans showing our appreciation for all the hard work Richards put in during his time in Philadelphia.
That was a moment to be proud of, though that feeling didn't last all that long for me. Why? Because after that initial show of appreciation, a good number of fans decided to boo Richards the remainder of the game every time he touched the puck the way they do when Sidney Crosby comes to play in Philadelphia, and frankly, I just don't get it.
Listen, I'm not going to say people were wrong for booing Richards or shouldn't have done it — after all, I wrote this. If you want to boo, by all means boo. I just don't understand it. I really don't. What is there to boo about Richards? The fact that he liked to drink and maybe wasn't the most vocal leader? All right, I guess. But I don't really get that when you look at the indisputable facts: Mike Richards played really, really hard every game he took the ice here in Philadelphia, he played in all situations, he was one of the game's best two-way forwards, he was the best penalty killer on the team, he threw crushing body checks, he was a really good player, and he wanted to stay here. He loved Philadelphia. He never said a bad word about the organization or the fans. He signed what he thought was a lifetime contract because he wanted to be here. I'm not sure what reason there is to boo a guy like that.
Sure, he wasn't perfect, but he was really good, worked really hard and loved being a Flyer. Doesn't make sense to me to boo him for that. He didn't ask to be traded. And I didn't see anyone booing Gagne or Williams, two other guys who were traded away.
I could understand booing him if he scored or something like that, because after all, he is no longer a Flyer. But to treat him with the same type of contempt as Crosby, a heated rival, I just don't get it.
Such is life. And regardless, it didn't seem to affect Richards' play. He was his normal self, doing a masterful job on the PK for L.A., manning the point on the power play, doing great work at both ends of the ice, and in my humble opinion playing as well, if not better, than anyone on the ice. He also had a Mike Richards special, leveling Jakub Voracek.
And he of course set up the game-winner with the primary assist on a perfect slap pass.
It was a little bit of poetic justice. And no matter what goes on moving forward, I will always be a Mike Richards fan. Of course, I'm a Flyers fan first and foremost, so booing that assist I completely understand. It's giving him the Crosby treatment that baffles me.
Then there is the Eagles. Winning that game yesterday was a very Eagles thing to do, bringing everyone back in just when you thought they were dead. And they did it all as some bizarro team.
We grew accustomed this season to the defense playing terrible football, especially the safeties, with the corners underachieving and the run defense as a sieve. Only the pass rush lived up to the hype. So naturally on Sunday, the defense played really well, surrendering just 13 points and forcing four turnovers. The safeties actually stood out, with Kurt Coleman playing the game of his life, picking off Rex Grossman three times, and Nate Allen continuing to look better and healthier, also intercepting Grossman. The corners took away the receivers, as only tight end Fred Davis could find any room to roam, and Nnamdi Asomugha even took out Chris Cooley with a vicious hit, finally deciding to do something during this 2011 season.
Furthermore, the run defense was impeccable, holding Washington to just 42 yards on the ground. Only the pass rush looked lackluster with Trent Cole absent. Like I said, it was a bizarro performance.
The same could be said offensively to an extent as well. Brent Celek, who had been MIA ever since Mike Vick became the regular quarterback, finally broke out with a four-catch game and a score, including an acrobatic grab thanks to his own doing.
And in some odd twist of fate or Andy just playing a cruel trick on us, LeSean McCoy actually carried the ball 28 times as the Eagles won 20-13. He also added 2 catches for 13 yards. Go figure that when you give your best player the ball 30 times you actually win. Seriously, LeSean should be touching the ball 25-35 times every week. The guy is the best player on the team.
This week, he did, and the Eagles won. At some point this year, he'll only get 9 or 11 carries, like he did the last two weeks, and the Eagles will lose, and you just won't understand.
That's the way of the world, I guess. Some things you just won't understand.
I thought Friday was supposed to mark the official start of fall. That's what it says on the calendar, anyway. But the weather over the weekend was full-on hot, humid summer, and I suffered as a result of it.
On Saturday, I headed out to Penn State with three of my college roommates to take in the sights and sounds of our alma mater and go to the game against Eastern Michigan. Having looked at the forecast earlier in the week, I expected clouds and possibly rain, and anticipated slightly cooler weather in State College. No such luck. Because when we arrived, the sun was shining bright, it was in the mid-70s and I got burnt to a crisp watching what can only be described as a boring decimation with a few highlights and some devastating lowlights.
First the good. Devon Smith, who I proclaimed nothing more than a track star posing as a football player, actually had a really nice game, 3 balls for a game-high 104 yards, including the longest play of the game, a 71-yard explosion of a touchdown. Derek Moye, who made an excellent block on Smith's TD, had a very nice game too, hauling in 6 passes for 65 yards and two scores.
Furthermore, Matt McGloin had a field day out there, going 14-17 for 220 yards and 3 touchdowns en route to being named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week with Michigan's Denard Robinson while again splitting time with Rob Bolden.
Now listen, I have made no bones about it that I am not a Matt McGloin fan. In my opinion, he doesn't have the arm to go out there and try to routinely throw the types of passes he likes to try to throw. But as much as I want Rob Bolden to clearly establish himself ahead of McGloin, McGloin really does seem to be more in command out there. Don't get me wrong, when it comes to facing top competition, like SEC teams, Bolden has certainly been better than McGloin the past two seasons. Just look at the numbers against Florida and Alabama. But it's not as though Bolden has been good against those teams either. He hasn't. He just hasn't sucked as bad as McGloin has.
But when the Nittany Lions play inferior competition, McGloin clearly stands out. He did last year, and he has so far this season. And if I'm looking at it from a coaching perspective, I'd rather have the guy who I know will play well against inferior teams under center than the guy who will play OK against bad teams and slightly less shitty against good teams than McGloin. At least McGloin does what he's supposed to against the teams Penn State should beat. Bolden is still a work in progress in that regard, evident by his pedestrian statline of 7-13 for 115 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception Saturday.
The difference between these guys is so marginal at this point that you might as well just go with the guy who instills the most confidence in teammates. That guy seems to be McGloin. Though I honestly don't think either one is really any good at all at this point. Hopefully Paul Jones can get himself eligible next year and be something these guys are not, or maybe even Skyler Mornhinweg.
More good: Devon Still continued to be an unblockable monster. That guy is easily the best player on this team, and he looks like he may be working his way into the first round come April. Also good news, Evan Lewis did not touch the field, and uncoincidentally, Penn State did not miss any field goals or extra points, as Anthony Fera hit a 29-yarder and freshman Sam Ficken hit a 43-yarder.
As for the bad, and I mean really bad, Mike Mauti again tore his ACL, an absolutely devastating blow to the Nittany Lions but more importantly to Mauti. This was supposed to be the year that Mauti established himself in the same breath as the greats of Linebacker U, and he was on his way. Sadly, his season is ended again, just as it was two years ago.
To add injury to injury, the team's best corner, D'Anton Lynn, suffered a head and neck injury, laying motionless on the field in a scary moment. Honestly, I thought the worst, picturing Lynn paralyzed in an Adam Taliaferro vein. Thankfully, that is not the case and Lynn has been released from the hospital. But it was certainly sobering to see him carried off in the stretcher after a long time motionless on the turf.
Those injuries dampened the good vibes around a pretty well-played game by Penn State. You never want to see anyone go down to injury, especially when it is two of your best players in a game that wasn't even competitive. It just seems to be one of those seasons for the Nittany Lions.
After returning from Penn State, I took it easy from a long day and then prepared to watch the Eagles-Giants prior to taking in the Battle of I-95. When I woke up yesterday, it was even hotter and more humid than it was the day before. What the hell? Where did all that fall weather that we had two weeks ago disappear to?
And where did this dream team everyone keeps talking about go? Because right now, the Eagles are anything but. Besides LeSean McCoy, who has absolutely been incredible this year, this team is underachieving all over the place. That's why they sit at 1-2, dead last in the NFC East after three weeks.
The offensive line is only OK. Mike Vick cannot stay healthy. Steve Smith dropped a perfectly thrown ball right in his hands in the red zone, which turned into an interception off his deflection. Then later Smith stopped his route short on a key third down, then turned the wrong way after the catch, failing to pick up a first. What a waste of a signing.
Nnamdi Asomugha has struggled to adjust to this Cover 2 scheme that clueless Juan Castillo has employed, and he has given up more big plays in three games as an Eagle than he did in 8 years in Oakland. The linebackers are atrocious, even worse than the low expectation set out before them. The safeties may be even worse than the linebackers, which seems unfathomable. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who everyone keeps calling the best athlete on the team, doesn't see the field enough despite being way better at his position than any of the linebackers or safeties are at theirs. And guys like Ronnie Brown and Vince Young, players who were thought to be key signings, don't even see the field really at all.
The there is the usual poor clock management and field awareness, evidenced by Jason Avant trying to juke someone instead of getting out of bounds, the team having to scramble to get off a field goal before half, and Andy Reid deciding to go for it at the New York 43 with a two-point lead and failing to convert instead of punting it and pinning New York deep. As a result, the Giants had their best starting field position of the game, and went in to take the lead for good.
A lot of people are saying that for not a few mistakes and some red zone failures, the Eagles would have won yesterday and probably would have won in Atlanta. That's true. But it's also true that they did make those mistakes, they do have terribly glaring weaknesses, they do commit mindless penalties, and they do have flaws that never get addressed. All the seemingly great signings blinded us to these facts in the offseason, but now the blinders are off. This team has major holes that must be corrected.
Undoubtedly, they can be addressed and corrected. We've seen the Eagles go on late-season runs before after stumbling early on. But any talk of a Super Bowl appearance is incredibly premature, and right now would be downright foolish. Other than LeSean's brilliance, this team has been underachieving week in and week out. The good news is at least someone is expressing their frustration.
I'm just thankful I didn't bake out in the sun to see it. I was watching in disgust at my house.
Afterward, silver fox and I headed to the Palestra to take in the Battle for I-95, and right away we knew we were in for a long night. Now, it's always pretty warm in the Palestra, but with the temperatures in Philadelphia in the high 70s and the humidity casting an unbearable mugginess in the region, not to mention a completely packed out, the heat was paralyzing in there. I mean, it was deadly hot. Before long, everyone was sweating so profusely that the entire arena smelled like a locker room.
By the time the game actually tipped off, I was covered in sweat. That was unpleasant. And to make matters worse, a few of the guys I was really looking forward to seeing didn't show up. The Morris twins were no-shows, and Kevin Durant did not attend. Also, Lynn Greer was there but did not dress, which I assume was due to injury.
Contrary to the rumors, no big surprise guests made an appearance either. No Iverson. No Sheed. No Kobe. No Jameer. The only guys who showed up that I didn't know would be there were a trio of Temple alums, Dionte Christmas, Mardy Collins and Mark Tyndale.
That's not say the game wasn't fun, because it was. Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James were in the building, as were Hakim Warrick, Kyle Lowry, Lou Williams and Tyreke Evans. Watching throughout, Melo and Hakim, the former Syracuse teammates who a national title for the Orange, looked to be having the most fun from the opening tip to the final whistle. It was cool to see them laughing it up and competing.
Chris Paul was getting love from the crowd and made some great passes, but LeBron, despite scoring a game-high 43 points, was a let-down. He spent nearly the entire game taking fadeaway jumpers, which is not exactly what the crowd wanted to see.
On the other hand, the Team Philly guys really impressed in the 132-122 victory. Kyle Lowry was awesome, scoring 34 points, and Lou Will was draining threes for 31 points. But Hakim Warrick and Tyreke Evans had the most impressive plays of the night. Warrick threw down a few awesome alley-oops and dunks while also getting some great blocks, while Tyreke looked like the best athlete on the court, getting to the rim often and flat out embarrassing defenders at times.
It was a fun time, but honestly not as much fun as I expected. The refs called way too many fouls for a game like this, and I was let down that there was no Durant and no real surprise guest. Plus, it was hot as hell in there.
However, it was still pretty sweet to see Paul, Melo, LeBron and company in town to take on some of Philadelphia's best ballers. Certainly a lot more sweet that getting sun burnt to death on Saturday and witnessing that debacle by the Eagles yesterday.
To be perfectly honest with you, my weekend was a whole lot like Jeremy Maclin's game in Atlanta last night. On paper, the weekend looked great: Relaxing and drinking some beers on Friday night, tailgating and taking in the Penn State-Temple game at the Linc on Saturday followed by a wedding and then watching the Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz fight, and wrapping it all up with football all day Sunday leading up to the Eagles-Falcons game for the nightcap. Oh, and the Phillies had the opportunity to clinch their fifth straight NL East title, not to mention playing under the bright lights of Sunday Night Baseball.
Likewise, Maclin's statistics — 13 catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns — were outstanding on paper. But just like my fun-filled weekend hit some hiccups along the way, no amount of catches, yards and even touchdowns can wipe away the memory of Maclin's critical drop on 4th-and-4 last night that sealed the Eagles' fate in Atlanta's 35-31 victory.
It really is a shame for both of us, because had just one or two more things gone right, this weekend could have been glorious for both Jeremy Maclin and me. But in the end, someone dropped the ball and prevented it from being all that it could have been.
Things started out on the wrong foot with the Phillies dropping the series opener to the Cardinals Friday, but at least we had Saturday to look forward to. We headed down to FDR Park around 9 a.m. to set up for a daylong tailgate for the Penn State-Temple game, though I could only partake in the morning portion because I had to leave after the game to go to a wedding.
There, things started great. We got a prime spot right at a group of picnic tables, had plenty of food and beer, and a crowd gathered before the game. We were drinking and eating and having a great time in anticipation for the game. Now, as much as people were talking about this being Temple's best shot ever at knocking off the Nittany Lions, I personally didn't see it. Undoubtedly my bias as a Penn State alum played a hand in that, but I honestly thought that with the talent disparity as far as depth is concerned, Penn State would win by two touchdowns.
I couldn't have been more wrong. The game was an absolute debacle. Penn State looked more incompetent on offense than I've ever seen. For starters, it's become abundantly clear now that neither Rob Bolden or Matt McGloin are any good. In fact, they're terrible. Really terrible. To the point that you wonder how a Big Ten team with the tradition Penn State has is in the position where these two guys are the best option at quarterback.
It doesn't even matter who starts, to be honest with you. Neither one is good, but playing both of them makes them both worse. The offense can get no rhythm because the QBs are being shuffled in and out at random, regardless of performance. Against Alabama, Bolden was playing much better than McGloin, yet the carousel continued. Saturday, McGloin was having a much better game than Bolden, yet the merry-go-round pressed on. Honestly, I don't think the coaching staff has any idea what the hell it's doing, and I don't mean just with the quarterback.
On offense, this team has some truly good playmakers — Silas Redd, Derek Moye, Justin Brown. Yet none of those guys are given the opportunity to get in a rhythm either. Every other play on offense, Penn State rotates in different sets of wide receivers and running backs, and it just makes no sense. Brown, Moye and Redd should be on the field for the large majority, I'm talking 70-80 percent, of the offensive snaps. But they aren't. Instead, in come true freshmen or backups to cut into that playing time, meaning the more talented players are on the sidelines when they could be making plays and developing chemistry with whatever quarterback is in the game. It simultaneously stunts the quarterbacks, those players and the offense as a whole. And it's why this team looks completely inept when it has the ball. More than anything, it's the coaching.
I never thought I'd say this, but the time has come. Clean house. Get rid of every coach in the program except for Larry Johnson, and maybe Tom Bradley and Mike McQueary. At least the receivers get open, and the defense is good.
That's really the shame of it. This defense is really good. Devon Still is one of the best defensive tackles in the nation. Mike Mauti played tremendously on Saturday. As did Chaz Powell and D'Anton Lynn. But their efforts are going to be wasted all season behind a terrible offense that his being horribly coached. It's really not fun being a Penn State fan right now, and I'm saying this after a victory.
I can say without hesitation that that disgusting 14-10 win was the most miserable I have ever been at game in which the team I was rooting for won. I have nothing more to say about this, because honestly this game wasn't worth anyone's time.
Also, Evan Lewis should never be allowed on the field ever again. I know at least 15 people personally who could kick a football better than him.
After that sorry disgrace for a game, my cousin and I hopped in my car, made a quick getaway and changed at my house before heading to a wedding for our other cousin.
That was just the appetizer to the Mayweather-Ortiz fight, which I watched at my other cousin's house after the wedding.
The fight started off with plenty of promise. Floyd was clearly outclassing Ortiz through three rounds, especially dominating in the third by picking apart the 24-year-old, but Ortiz wasn't backing down, was taking it to Mayweather in the 4th and it looked like we were in for a good fight. But then Victor dropped the ball, inexplicably heading Floyd when he had him pinned against the ropes, then kissing him on the cheek to make Money even more angry, then trying to apologize 15 damn times before getting knocked the fuck out when he lost focus and forgot he was in a boxing match.
Hands down, man down. Say what you want about Floyd, the dude did his job. Ortiz is a moron. He dropped the ball.
At least the Phils won and clinched the NL East behind Raul Ibanez's grand slam and Roy Oswalt's gem.
Then last night took place. The Phils lost yet again, putting it on Doc's shoulders to clinch home field tonight. While I never want to see the Phils lose, the silver lining is that I'll be in attendance tonight as Roy Halladay takes the ball to clinch home field. Should be good.
What was not good was the Eagles. We all know what happened last night, because everyone was watching. Mike Vick was playing extremely well until he fumbled in the red zone, leading to a Falcons touchdown and a 14-point swing. Then the game went on the see-saw, Maclin dominated, Vick got knocked out and the Eagles looked be in control. Until they weren't.
Mike Kafka did all he could, playing extremely well and putting the Eagles in position to go ahead late, until Maclin, who had been the hero to that point, dropped a ball that anyone in the world with hands could have caught. With the way Maclin played, you want to give him the benefit of the doubt there, but you really just can't. That's not just a ball that should be caught or could be caught, it's a ball that has to be caught, 100 times out of 100. To be frank, it's absolutely ridiculous that any player in the NFL would drop that pass. But shit happens, unfortunately, and a whole lot of shit happened in that game — the turnovers, Vick getting concussed by his own guy, and the dropped ball. Ugly.
A few other notes on the game:
-LeSean McCoy is an absolute stud. Seriously, this guy needs to get the ball a ton and should be on his way to perennial Pro Bowl status. The things he does out there are amazing, and he was great last night.
-Jason Peters is a man's man. It's really frustrating watching him commit a false start, but all you need to do is watch him maul everyone in his path to forgive him. That guy is insanely good.
-Nnamdi and Asante are everything everyone expected them to be. Asomugha played practically a flawless game, blanketing Roddy White and holding him to 3 catches for 23 yards, while Julio Jones only had 2 catches for 29 yards. Meanwhile, both Asante and Nnamdi came up with a pick, and no one is going to be able to throw to their receivers against this defense.
-Unfortunately, they will be able to throw to the tight end all day. While the linebackers improved against the run this week, even Casey Matthews, they showed they cannot cover the tight end at all. Tony Gonzalez went bonkers, routinely burning the linebackers and safeties.
-And that's why the Eagles gave up 35 points, mainly because of the linebackers and safeties in the passing game. Honestly, the defensive line played well, with Trent Cole playing beastlike as the best defensive player on the field all night, and Cullen Jenkins impressing even more. But Matt Ryan just kept going over the middle, exploiting the linebackers and safeties in coverage, and it worked. It's frustrating when so many players on defense are playing well yet the Falcons still scored 35 and went 5-for-5 in the red zone.
-I really hope Mike Vick is all right. Having said that, Kafka played really well.
Seriously Maclin, how the hell did you drop that ball?
It's been two days since the dust settled from the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles' season opener in St. Louis, and just about everything that can be said about the 31-13 win has been said. Regardless, here's my take on the good, the bad and the most frustrating constant of the Andy Reid era.
The Good Mike Vick: The passing numbers aren't particularly impressive — 14-32, 187 yards, three sacks, two touchdowns — but when you take everything into consideration, the newly minted $100 million man showed his worth on Sunday. In addition to his two-touchdown, no-turnover day throwing the ball, Vick did what no other quarterback can do, rushing the ball for 98 yards on just 10 carries.
Yes, did lose one fumble, and you certainly would like to see a higher completion percentage, but in all, Vick was pretty damn good. Consider that his receivers had a few pretty bad drops, particularly DeSean Jackson on what would have been a 90-yard touchdown, and there's not much to complain about in regard to Vick. Well, except that he once again took too many hits, but what do you expect from an offensive line in such turmoil.
Even with the hits on Vick, I didn't think the offensive played all that badly considering they hadn't played a single snap together as a unit ever. There's work to be done for sure, but it was a promising start.
DeSean Jackson: Save for his horrible drop on that bomb from Vick, DeSean showed he certainly isn't going to let his contract status affect his play. As has been customary since being drafted a few years ago, Jackson made big plays and had a huge game, nabbing 6 balls for 102 yards and a score, including a 41-yarder that went for the biggest pass play of the afternoon. Pay this man.
LeSean McCoy: For anyone who thought Ronnie Brown may cut into LeSean's production this season, fear not if this game was any indication. McCoy wasn't tearing it up in the early going, but as the game wore on and the Eagles took a lead, the offensive line started to dominate in the running game and LeSean took advantage. In the end, he finished with 122 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown on the longest play of the game, a 49-yard run, while also hauling in a touchdown catch.
If last year wasn't proof enough, this is good reinforcement that McCoy is among the elite running backs in the league.
The pass rush: The Eagles sacked Sam Bradford 4 times and former Eagle A.J. Feeley once, with the new additions certainly making their presence felt. Jason Babin recorded two sacks in his return to Philadelphia, making him already more valuable than he was the first around, and Cullen Jenkins was a beast all day, ultimately getting a sack himself.
Honestly, in my opinion Jenkins was the most impressive Eagle defender on the day. He routinely got push up front and helped create all the pressure the Eagles got on Bradford. All day long the Birds were hitting Bradford and putting him on his back before he had to leave with that finger injury. Trent Cole got on the board, and Darryl Tapp had a very strong showing as a situational pass rusher, registering a sack himself and a forced fumble. All in all, great work on the pass rush from the front four.
The secondary: Yes, as the always impressive Sheil Kapadia pointed out, Nnamdi Asomugha was flagged for a 41-yard pass interference and also was a part of a 31-yard completion to Brandon Gibson on a blown assignment by either Nnamdi or Kurt Coleman. But the Nnamdi effect was profound. Those two plays were the only two times Bradford went to Asomugha's side all game long, meaning most of the balls to wideouts were headed Asante Samuel's way. That is a terrifying proposition for any quarterback.
Even though Asante didn't get a pick on Sunday — in fact, he dropped an incredibly easy one — I'd bet the house that he leads the league in picks with Nnamdi taking away his half of the field. Every pass in the first half especially seemed to go Asante's way, and unsurprisingly, the Rams struggled throwing the ball. Bradford was held to just 17-30 for 188 yards while Feeley was just 1-5 for 21 yards.
Add in the fact that Jarrad Page played very well, tying Jamar Chaney for the team-high in tackles with 6 and making several nice plays on the ball, and that Kurt Coleman didn't make any glaring mistakes, and teams are not going to have fun trying to throw the ball against this defense. At all. Though I have to admit that Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie got turned around a few times trying to cover Danny Amendola. Still, the talent in the secondary is frightening.
The Bad The run defense: Oh boy, it didn't take long to see the Eagles may get gashed a bit in the run game. Before you could blink, Steven Jackson was blowing by everyone 47 yards without being touched for a score on the first play of the game. It's a good thing for the Birds that he tweaked his quad on that carry and only had one more all game, though Cadillac Williams continued to get chunks of yards in the run game, going for 91 yards on 19 carries.
Playing the defensive ends to wide clearly leaves the Eagles vulnerable against the run, and the pass-rush-first mentality of the defensive line left them out of position routinely against the run. That made the linebackers' job that much more difficult, because with the d-linemen out of the way, the Rams' o-linemen were able to get on the linebackers and clear the way. Not good.
Casey Matthews: The starting middle linebacker had 4 tackles against a team that was running the ball all game long. That's not good enough. And to be perfectly honest, from what we've seen this preseason and now in one regular season game, Casey Matthews simply isn't good enough to be starting in the NFL. The guy could not shed a black to save his life, he's not particular strong or fast, and he doesn't make plays. Add him to the long list of "other" brothers in Philadelphia's sports history.
Honestly, from what I've seen, Brian Rolle is just a better player than Matthews. I know he's incredibly small too, but he's faster, stronger and seems to have better instincts. I'd like to see more Rolle and less Matthews going forward.
The other linebackers: Matthews struggles were indicative of the linebackers as a whole, though Matthews certainly struggled the most. Jamar Chaney was probably the best of the bunch, leading the Eagles with 6 tackles, but it would be an absolute stretch to say he stood out. Moise Fokou made a couple good plays but also had some absolutely horrible plays, getting eaten alive by blockers and completely misjudging plays.
As everyone expected, the linebackers struggled, especially against the run. Why this franchise seems to undervalue the position this past decade is pretty baffling, but nothing new.
Danny Amendola:
I'm pretty sure your arm is not supposed to do that.
Clock management If there is one thing that frustrates us Eagles fans more than anything it is this team's absolutely pathetic clock management skills, specifically during the two-minute drill, and it's something that's been going on the entire Andy Reid era.
For a refresher, the Eagles took possession at their own 35-yard line on Sunday with 3:40 left in the first half — 3 minutes and 40 seconds. That is an eternity for most NFL teams to try and go 75 yards, regardless of the timeout situation — though having all three timeouts certainly helps. Of course, the Eagles senselessly burned a timeout in the first quarter on a first-down play and then another on a 3rd-and-6 in the 2nd quarter, which did result in a first down.
So the Eagles got the ball back with 3:40 remaining in the half and one timeout. Seriously, that should leave every team in the NFL with more than enough time to try and punch it into the end zone. Of course, it wasn't for the Eagles, because every single season since Andy Reid has become head coach, this team is clueless at managing the clock. That is not an opinion, it is fact.
Shit, on the first play of that final drive of the half, Vick threw an incomplete pass … and then on 2nd and 10 the Eagles took their final timeout! The clock was already stopped for christ's sake! OK, fine. No timeouts. Still, the team had the ball at their own 35 with 3:34 remaining … and they still ran out of time as they were driving down the field, being forced to kick a field goal because they let so much time expire between plays.
It's something that is mind-numbingly frustrating. Honestly, it is beyond logic that a coach who is as well-prepared and that has had as much success as Andy Reid year in and year out cannot teach his team to function in the two-minute offense. It makes absolutely no sense. And things like that are why so many Eagles fans call for the head of the most successful coach in franchise history as far as wins and losses and playoff appearances are concerned. It's because even though he's been at the helm for more than a decade, he and his teams still make the same mistakes that they did in his rookie season as head coach.
I don't understand how a guy as smart as Andy Reid, a guy who is as good of a coach as Andy Reid can go so long without ever correcting this and his other mistakes. I'll never understand it, and it will continue to drive me crazy.
Teams from other cities think Eagles fans are nuts to hate Andy Reid because they look at all the NFC East titles, all the wins, all the playoff appearances and teams that were in contention and they see a great coach. And they're right. But what they don't see week in and week out for the past 13 seasons is the same mistakes over and over and over again. It's enough to drive you mad and call for his head, even when you know he's had so much success.
You said it, Jaws.
In the end, however, it was a pretty good performance in the season opener. The Eagles had too much for talent for the Rams, and they did what a talented team should do against a less talented one, winning going away 31-13. There's definitely room for improvement, but you really couldn't have asked for a whole lot more in the season debut.
