The Good, The Bad, The Ugly - Week 2
Before this weekend, the questions was whether or not Philly could shake off their Monday night loss, or was this just a sign of things to come. After this weekend, the question is whether or not anyone else can even compete with the Eagles. Okay, maybe that’s hyperbole on my part, but excuse me while I dance a little jig in honor of the Birds 42-3 pasting of the embarrassingly overmatched Niners. While we can’t take away a guaranteed Super Bowl bid after this week, there’s still plenty to be taken away:
The Good
- Injury? What injury? - And I thought McNabb looked decent last week. It must have been the lack of real football for so long warping my perception. McNabb put on a performance of epic proportions this week and re-established his credentials as one of the elite in the league. 23 of 29 for 342 yards, 5 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Peyton Manning, eat your heart out!
- Feud? What feud? - Last week they were cordial, this week they were friendly. While the myth of them being best buds has been shattered forever, the reality of them being professional teammates is worth far more. This week McNabb didn’t even have to force the ball to Owens to rack up over 140 yards and 2 TDs.
- Time to breakout - LJ Smith (one of my personal favorites) has re-emerged as the kind of go to TE he appeared to be before his injury last year. Notching his first 100 yard game, he set a career high with 9 catches. Oh yeah, he also found the endzone.
- Chock full o’ receivers - For a team that’s not supposed to have much receiving depth, the Eagles certainly found a lot of targets. McNabb, Detmer, and McMahon connected with 11 different players yesterday. Eleven! And over half of them had at least 3 catches. It’s great to see newcomers Spach, Gordon, and McCants all get into the mix. And don’t look now, but even Billy “Wilbur” McMullen has 20 yards.
- D-FENCE! - That field goal really urked me, but the defense put on a shut out performance regardless. They did not let the Niners pass, nor did they let them run. As a matter of fact, they didn’t even let them cross midfield until nearly 21 minutes into the game - and immediately intercepted the next pass thrown. Their 3 possessions that entered Eagles territory in the second half went as follows: punt, FG, sacked back into their own territory followed by punt.
- Marky-Mark and the Point After Bunch - Simoneau may have just earned the love of many fans by kicking a PAT when Akers went down. Probably more than his defensive play has the last 2 years. Let’s also hear it for Mike Bartrum, who added a decent kickoff while Akers was being worked on.
- See Andy run - Sure, it took until the Birds were up by 4 touchdowns, but Andy played clock management by running the ball in the second half and giving Gordon some much needed reps. While still somewhat unbalanced, 30 rushes is pretty good for this team.
- Let’s hear it for the Koy - For all of those doubting Koy’s abilities as the #2 after a mediocore preseason, take a gander at what he can do: 9 of 9 for 94 yards. Yes, it was against the 49ers, but it still shows he is qualified for his job and a capable team leader.
The Bad
- Fumblerooski! - Two in 2 weeks isn’t exactly terrible, but it’s rare to see McNabb flustered into coughing up the ball. Most likely he’s just scared to run right now, but I’ve mocked Culpepper’s fumbling problem too many times to take this lightly.
- No good! - What is up with Akers? Yet another missed field goal. This appears to be becoming a league-wide epidemic as typically reliable guys have been shanking all over.
- Punt you! - Okay, you know it’s a good week when I’m going to complain about a punter who only saw the field twice, but what was up with that 19 yard lame duck Johnson served up in the first quarter? With a chance to pin the Niners against their own goal line, Johnson actually gave them decent field position.
The Ugly
- What else do we have to worry about, except Akers? Not only is he 1 for 4 this year, but he pulled up lame yesterday. Sure, he came back to finish the game, but Bartrum kicked off just as well as he did in the end. We can only hope that this isn’t serious and he can overcome both the injury and the slump.
Parting Shots
It is important that we keep this week in as much perspective as last week. The Eagles destroyed a team that they were expected to destroy. That’s excellent, but the coming weeks will tell us as much about their abilities as this week did about their resolve. And with the Falcons having been brought back down to Earth so quickly, once again we are at the top of the NFC.
I would also like to give credit where credit is due. The officials were much better this week. Very few penalties dished out in a cleanly fought game (the Eagles only had about half a dozen with 3 coming in garbage time). Most importantly, they didn’t call any weak late hits and even picked up a flag when Mike Rumph lit up Owens in the second quarter. That was a good, strong, and most importantly, clean hit. That’s the way football should be played, no matter if it’s the Eagles dishing out or receiving.
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Posted on September 19, 2005 by Thom | Filed Under Eagles, Philadelphia
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I bet that we’ll always have more to say in the comments section when the Eagles lose than when they win. That’s just the nature of Philly fans!