Another week in the NFL season, and we are further from knowing who these Eagles really are than ever before. Or maybe, this is who the Eagles really are.
Passing Offense:
Another average day for McNabb and the receivers. They moved the ball between the twenties, and bogged down in the red zone; that area inside the twenty that has been called a number of names in Philly, none of which have the slightest positive connotation. McNabb made a nice pass on his lone TD pass, but also missed badly on an earlier red zone possession. Reggie Brown also dropped a TD pass on their first red zone possession, right after making two great catches to get them in position.
Grade: C
Rushing Offense:
When they ran, they ran fairly well. But you would expect a playmaker like Westbrook to run wild one week after the Bears let Adrian Peterson do everything but throw for a TD. The running game helped keep the Eagles in 3rd and short situations, but it disappeared late in the game with the Eagles nursing a lead. Some semblance of a running game would help the red zone woes too.
Grade: C+
Passing Defense:
Well, it was an A for 58 minutes. Then they gave up the winning touchdown, making Brian Griese look like John Elway in the process. Giving up a 97 yard TD drive with less than two minutes and no timeouts left is completely inexcusable, even if there are two holding penalties and a push off on the TD pass. They've held the team in every game while they got their act together, but when the chips were down, they folded.
Grade: C-
Rushing Defense:
Well, it was an A for 58 minutes too. And thankfully for them, teams don't run the ball when down by 4 with 97 yards to go and no timeouts left. So, technically they were good all game.
Grade: A
Special Teams:
Devin Hester touched the ball exactly zero times in the return game, and he was still the most effective player on the field on Sunday. The Eagles chose to kick to the short man on kickoffs, and out of bounds in the punting game, and as a result the Bears seemed to start every drive on their 40 yard line. And in a game full of field goals, this was huge for a team that couldn't move the ball. Hester basically won this game for the Bears.
Grade: F
Overall:
There was no getting around it; both teams needed to win this game. Only one did, and neither probably deserved to. There were a few good plays and a lot of bad ones. Their were poor penalties, poor non-calls, poor rules (that crazy fumbled snap that was technically a false start), and through it all the Eagles were still in a position to win. But they didn't. They moved the ball well, but they couldn't score. They held the Bears off the board, except when it counted. So is this what the Eagles really are this year? A 2-4 team that finds ways to lose instead of ways to win? For the time being, I think that has to be excepted as a very real possibility. There is still time to turn their season around, but with a game against New England, two against Dallas, and rematches with the Giants and Redskins still to come, the margin for error is now down to zero. And that doesn't seem like a very good thing for a team that has been anything but perfect.
Grade: D
Showing posts with label Report Card. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Report Card. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Eagles Week Six Report Card
They needed a win. That's what they got. Even if it wasn't pretty, they made progress toward the team they are supposed to be this year.
Passing Offense
McNabb has had better days, but he has also had much worse. He was a respectable 22 of 35 for 278 yards and the game's lone touchdown; a 75 yard catch and run by Kevin Curtis. McNabb did through one interception while backed up on his own goal line. He can thank the defense for that one not costing them. Reggie Brown showed that he actually is playing this year, making 6 grabs for 89 yards. LJ Smith made a catch, but as a unit, the tight ends are still invisible. That needs to change sooner rather than later. McNabb capped off the passing game on the final drive with a huge third down completion to Brown that kept the drive alive, and moved the Eagles out of the shadow of their goal line. Passing game needs to be sharper in the Red Zone
Grade: Solid B
Rushing Offense
Brian Westbrook continues to show why he is now being recognized nationally as one of the best backs in the game. He gained 120 yards on 20 carries, and had a 19 TD wiped out by holding penalty. The Eagles ran the ball much more than Andy Reid is known for, but they failed to rush successfully, or at all, in the Red Zone; resulting in 4 field goal attempts and no TDs. Westbrook needs to see the ball more inside the twenty. Offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage. I would like to see more Buckhalter, and maybe even a little Tony Hunt when the line is dominating like it was.
Grade: A-
Passing Defense
Just 109 yards allowed through the air on 11 of 21 passing. That's good. Add in a big interception, and even bigger defense on a possible game tying fade route in the end, by Sheldon Brown, and you've got a dominate performance by the Eagles' pass defense. And that was done without Pro Bowlers Brian Dawkins and Lito Sheppard.
Grade: A+
Rushing Defense
It was ugly at first, with Thomas Jones hitting the same cut back lane time and time again to the tune of 55 rushing yards on the opening drive. But they defense stiffened, and forced a field goal. They didn't allow much the rest of the game, including stuffing the Jets multiple times inside the five, on their final drive down by seven, to force a fourth down fade route that fell incomplete.
Grade: Solid B
Special Teams
Sucked. Needs to get better in all phases. David Akers' nightmares of the Meadowlands will only get worse, as he missed two more field goals from 41 yards. He did make two that turned out to be very important. But perhaps more concerning, is the kick coverage. Leon Washington returned one kick 51 yards, and had another return that looked to be shaping up dangerously until he tripped up with a shoe string tackle. With Devin Hester coming to town this week, this simply needs to be better. That, or they should consider kicking out of bounds on every kickoff.
Grade: D- (only because it didn't lose them the game)
Overall
If they convert those two missed field goals into touchdowns, we're looking at a 30-9 blowout. So, if the Eagles can get that Red Zone offense straightened out, they look to be back on track. The defense continues to be much better, much earlier, than expected. And they should only get better when (and if) Lito and Dawkins get back. McNabb should continue to improve from week to week, and that is good news for this offense. Andy Reid needs to trust the running game more, as Brian Westbrook is his best player, by far.
Grade: B-
Passing Offense
McNabb has had better days, but he has also had much worse. He was a respectable 22 of 35 for 278 yards and the game's lone touchdown; a 75 yard catch and run by Kevin Curtis. McNabb did through one interception while backed up on his own goal line. He can thank the defense for that one not costing them. Reggie Brown showed that he actually is playing this year, making 6 grabs for 89 yards. LJ Smith made a catch, but as a unit, the tight ends are still invisible. That needs to change sooner rather than later. McNabb capped off the passing game on the final drive with a huge third down completion to Brown that kept the drive alive, and moved the Eagles out of the shadow of their goal line. Passing game needs to be sharper in the Red Zone
Grade: Solid B
Rushing Offense
Brian Westbrook continues to show why he is now being recognized nationally as one of the best backs in the game. He gained 120 yards on 20 carries, and had a 19 TD wiped out by holding penalty. The Eagles ran the ball much more than Andy Reid is known for, but they failed to rush successfully, or at all, in the Red Zone; resulting in 4 field goal attempts and no TDs. Westbrook needs to see the ball more inside the twenty. Offensive line dominated the line of scrimmage. I would like to see more Buckhalter, and maybe even a little Tony Hunt when the line is dominating like it was.
Grade: A-
Passing Defense
Just 109 yards allowed through the air on 11 of 21 passing. That's good. Add in a big interception, and even bigger defense on a possible game tying fade route in the end, by Sheldon Brown, and you've got a dominate performance by the Eagles' pass defense. And that was done without Pro Bowlers Brian Dawkins and Lito Sheppard.
Grade: A+
Rushing Defense
It was ugly at first, with Thomas Jones hitting the same cut back lane time and time again to the tune of 55 rushing yards on the opening drive. But they defense stiffened, and forced a field goal. They didn't allow much the rest of the game, including stuffing the Jets multiple times inside the five, on their final drive down by seven, to force a fourth down fade route that fell incomplete.
Grade: Solid B
Special Teams
Sucked. Needs to get better in all phases. David Akers' nightmares of the Meadowlands will only get worse, as he missed two more field goals from 41 yards. He did make two that turned out to be very important. But perhaps more concerning, is the kick coverage. Leon Washington returned one kick 51 yards, and had another return that looked to be shaping up dangerously until he tripped up with a shoe string tackle. With Devin Hester coming to town this week, this simply needs to be better. That, or they should consider kicking out of bounds on every kickoff.
Grade: D- (only because it didn't lose them the game)
Overall
If they convert those two missed field goals into touchdowns, we're looking at a 30-9 blowout. So, if the Eagles can get that Red Zone offense straightened out, they look to be back on track. The defense continues to be much better, much earlier, than expected. And they should only get better when (and if) Lito and Dawkins get back. McNabb should continue to improve from week to week, and that is good news for this offense. Andy Reid needs to trust the running game more, as Brian Westbrook is his best player, by far.
Grade: B-
Monday, October 1, 2007
Eagles' 1st Quarter Report Card
With four games in the books, it's time to send the Eagles' report card home to their parents. And I don't think the Birds will be getting their allowance.
Quarterback: C
This was the big question mark coming into the season. Was Donovan McNabb healthy? I pronounced numerous times that he was, and this position was the least of the Eagles' worries. I was wrong. McNabb was simply off during the first two losses of the season to the Packers and Redskins. It's hard to pin the Green Bay loss on him, because of the special teams errors, but if he put forth a good performance the Birds could have won in spite of those miscues. However, the Redskins game can be put on five's shoulders. McNabb took off the knee brace for week three, and quite literally played perfectly in a 56-21 drubbing of the Lions. And week four was a 16-3 loss to the Giants, where McNabb's numbers are ugly, but it's hard to blame a QB when he gets sacked 12 times.
Running Back: A
The lone bright spot on the offense. Before missing game four due to injury, Brian Westbrook led the NFL in yards from scrimmage. He was arguably running better than any back in the league, and he accounted for about half of the team's offense. And even when he missed game four, Correll Buckhalter stepped in and ran very well. If only the Eagles would put the ball in these guys' hands more often; but we'll get to that more later.
Wide Receiver: D-
Kevin Curtis' big game against the Lions is all that is keeping this grade from being an F. Aside from that, the receiving corps has been dreadful. Through four games this season, the blueprint has been developed on how to defend this offense. It turns out it is pretty simple actually. It is press coverage. Three teams have done that to the Eagles receivers, and they have held the offense to 28 points, and just one touchdown. The one team that played a soft zone, the Lions, only yielded the endzone to the Eagles' offense eight times. Reggie Brown, who seemed poised to break out in this, his third, season, has been invisible. Jason Avant has actually been a nice number three guy though. Go figure, he is a big athletic guy who can beat press coverage.
Tight Ends: F
L.J. Smith has been hurt and missed two games, and might as well have missed the other two. The other two tight ends have done next to nothing as well. And they can't block either. It's been a wasted position for the Eagles.
Offensive Line: D
It's not so much that this unit has played bad, aside from the game against the Giants, where they gave up about four dozen sacks, but rather they've played well below expectations. This was supposed to be the Eagles' strength. They started every game together last season, and the first three games this season, and they paved the way for the number two ranked offense in the league last season. But this year, they haven't been nearly as good. Obviously the game against New York was horrible, but even when they haven't given up lots of sacks, they haven't been able to give McNabb a nice pocket. And they haven't been able to give the receivers enough time to shake the jam.
Defensive Line: B+
Another won of the few bright spots; especially after their poor showing for most of last year. The tackles have been very solid, if not very good, in stuffing the run and getting pressure up the middle. Broderick Bunkley worked very hard in the offseason to improve upon his forgettable rookie season, and it has paid off big time. The ends are getting relatively good pressure, but they are not getting quite enough pressure on third down passing situations leading to first downs.
Linebackers: B
A huge question mark going into the season, the linebacking corps has been perfectly adequate. Takeo Spikes appears to be fully recovered from the Achilles' injury he suffered in 2005. Omar Gaither appears to not be too small to stop the run at middle linebacker, and he provides much more range than the departed Jeremiah Trotter. And Chris Gocong, the second year player who never made a start at SAM before this season, doesn't appear lost. They need to do a better job on third an medium though.
Defensive Backs: B-
It's been hard to judge this group, with them missing two Pro Bowlers in Brian Dawkins and Lito Sheppard, for two and three games respectively. But, as a healthy unit, they held Brett Favre and the Packers to no touchdowns. And as a banged up unit, they did enough against a potent Lions attack, and held Eli Manning in check for the most part. They also need to do a better job on third down. It would nice if they created a few turnovers as well.
Special Teams: F-
They already lost the team a game, and that is good enough for a C- right there. They still don't really have a kick or punt returner that will scare anyone. And their kick coverage has been average at best. David Akers has been better than last year so far, but the punting situation is different. The Eagles took a risk on Australian Rules punter Sav Rocca because they loved the upside of his cannon of a leg. However, the big boomers have been few and far between. And it's not like he hasn't had plenty of opportunities either.
Coaching: F
It started in the first game, when the inability to have a backup plan to Jeremy Bloom came back to bite them. The coaching staff has refused to alter the game plan when McNabb was clearly struggling. And Andy Reid did nothing to help out Winston Justice, who was making his first start at left tackle, when the line was getting thrashed by the Giants pass rush. As a matter of fact, he didn't do anything to slow down the rush...like running. But most importantly, they lost three out of four games.
So, it's the Eagles' bye week. Maybe this report card means they should be grounded for their week off?
Quarterback: C
This was the big question mark coming into the season. Was Donovan McNabb healthy? I pronounced numerous times that he was, and this position was the least of the Eagles' worries. I was wrong. McNabb was simply off during the first two losses of the season to the Packers and Redskins. It's hard to pin the Green Bay loss on him, because of the special teams errors, but if he put forth a good performance the Birds could have won in spite of those miscues. However, the Redskins game can be put on five's shoulders. McNabb took off the knee brace for week three, and quite literally played perfectly in a 56-21 drubbing of the Lions. And week four was a 16-3 loss to the Giants, where McNabb's numbers are ugly, but it's hard to blame a QB when he gets sacked 12 times.
Running Back: A
The lone bright spot on the offense. Before missing game four due to injury, Brian Westbrook led the NFL in yards from scrimmage. He was arguably running better than any back in the league, and he accounted for about half of the team's offense. And even when he missed game four, Correll Buckhalter stepped in and ran very well. If only the Eagles would put the ball in these guys' hands more often; but we'll get to that more later.
Wide Receiver: D-
Kevin Curtis' big game against the Lions is all that is keeping this grade from being an F. Aside from that, the receiving corps has been dreadful. Through four games this season, the blueprint has been developed on how to defend this offense. It turns out it is pretty simple actually. It is press coverage. Three teams have done that to the Eagles receivers, and they have held the offense to 28 points, and just one touchdown. The one team that played a soft zone, the Lions, only yielded the endzone to the Eagles' offense eight times. Reggie Brown, who seemed poised to break out in this, his third, season, has been invisible. Jason Avant has actually been a nice number three guy though. Go figure, he is a big athletic guy who can beat press coverage.
Tight Ends: F
L.J. Smith has been hurt and missed two games, and might as well have missed the other two. The other two tight ends have done next to nothing as well. And they can't block either. It's been a wasted position for the Eagles.
Offensive Line: D
It's not so much that this unit has played bad, aside from the game against the Giants, where they gave up about four dozen sacks, but rather they've played well below expectations. This was supposed to be the Eagles' strength. They started every game together last season, and the first three games this season, and they paved the way for the number two ranked offense in the league last season. But this year, they haven't been nearly as good. Obviously the game against New York was horrible, but even when they haven't given up lots of sacks, they haven't been able to give McNabb a nice pocket. And they haven't been able to give the receivers enough time to shake the jam.
Defensive Line: B+
Another won of the few bright spots; especially after their poor showing for most of last year. The tackles have been very solid, if not very good, in stuffing the run and getting pressure up the middle. Broderick Bunkley worked very hard in the offseason to improve upon his forgettable rookie season, and it has paid off big time. The ends are getting relatively good pressure, but they are not getting quite enough pressure on third down passing situations leading to first downs.
Linebackers: B
A huge question mark going into the season, the linebacking corps has been perfectly adequate. Takeo Spikes appears to be fully recovered from the Achilles' injury he suffered in 2005. Omar Gaither appears to not be too small to stop the run at middle linebacker, and he provides much more range than the departed Jeremiah Trotter. And Chris Gocong, the second year player who never made a start at SAM before this season, doesn't appear lost. They need to do a better job on third an medium though.
Defensive Backs: B-
It's been hard to judge this group, with them missing two Pro Bowlers in Brian Dawkins and Lito Sheppard, for two and three games respectively. But, as a healthy unit, they held Brett Favre and the Packers to no touchdowns. And as a banged up unit, they did enough against a potent Lions attack, and held Eli Manning in check for the most part. They also need to do a better job on third down. It would nice if they created a few turnovers as well.
Special Teams: F-
They already lost the team a game, and that is good enough for a C- right there. They still don't really have a kick or punt returner that will scare anyone. And their kick coverage has been average at best. David Akers has been better than last year so far, but the punting situation is different. The Eagles took a risk on Australian Rules punter Sav Rocca because they loved the upside of his cannon of a leg. However, the big boomers have been few and far between. And it's not like he hasn't had plenty of opportunities either.
Coaching: F
It started in the first game, when the inability to have a backup plan to Jeremy Bloom came back to bite them. The coaching staff has refused to alter the game plan when McNabb was clearly struggling. And Andy Reid did nothing to help out Winston Justice, who was making his first start at left tackle, when the line was getting thrashed by the Giants pass rush. As a matter of fact, he didn't do anything to slow down the rush...like running. But most importantly, they lost three out of four games.
So, it's the Eagles' bye week. Maybe this report card means they should be grounded for their week off?
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