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Justin Boylan... Game 17 Eagles knocked out of playoffs by Dallas 34-14 ...1-11-10 It's happened, no ifs ands, or buts about it. What is there to say, really? There's no spinning this one, less than a week after facing the Dallas Cowboys in the regular season finale, the Philadelphia Eagles were back in Dallas to pick up where they left off (not exactly what Eagles fans were hoping for). After the 24-0 debacle, things had to get better. They couldn't get any worse, right? Wrong. I tried writing this Sunday morning, before the rest of Wildcard weekend, and I couldn't. I was so concerned about the Eagles on Saturday that I was zoning in and out of the Jets-Bengals game (plus, I wasn't thrilled with that result either, not a fan of the “Sanchise”). So after Saturday night I was completely disgusted with the NFL Playoffs. I woke up Sunday still in a state of shock and denial. The Eagles lost to the Cowboys for the third time this season, and the second time in less than a week, I know it's hard to handle but the fact is: the Cowboys are bette Sometimes it takes seeing others suffer the way you did to help turn your mood around. So I would like to take this opportunity to thank the New England Patriots (it was nice to see a team play as bad as the Eagles did in Dallas ). The Pats were down 24-0 after the first quarter, and lost 33-14. I watched as Tom Brady threw interceptions and lost fumbles, and as Bill Belichick stood there, watching his season end the way I did the night before. I have to say, when the Patriots joined the Eagles at the losers' table, it made me a tiny bit happier inside. Just a tiny bit. The Eagles are used to coming up short, they aren't used to losing three times to a division rival, but playoff woes aren't anything new. Any way you slice it, the Eagles faced a tough first round match-up and didn't play nearly as good as they needed to in order to advance. The first quarter kept most fans still on the ledge (it wasn't quite time to jump). The Cowboys received the opening kick and started a drive that took them all the way to the Philadelphia 14-yard line. What is everyone thinking, “This is perfect, the Cowboys are going to march down the field and score every time. Just look at this opening drive.” (That just wasn't true; it took Dallas a couple drives to get going.) After two Dallas penalties and a sack, the Cowboys had to punt to start the game. The Eagles couldn't get anything started offensively, and neither team scored in the first quarter. Even though it was 0-0 after the first quarter, you could really see that this game wasn't going to be much different from the final game of the regular season. The Cowboys offense spent most of the time of the field, and every play you're watching with one eye closed because you know they can break the defense at any moment. The Eagles offense rushed onto the field, and then off, after picking up one first down in the quarter (too bad they didn't rush the ball like they hurried to the sideline). It was the calm before the storm. After a shaky pass interference call early in the second quarter on Sheldon Brown that netted the Cowboys 40 yards, Tony Romo hit tight end John Phillips for the 1-yard score and first touchdown of the night. Surprisingly, the Eagles immediately answered back, Michael Vick threw a 76-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin (this play did get me a little excited. It's always electrifying to watch Vick line up in the Wildcat, he did a nice job of selling the run and then being able to hit Maclin so he could turn it up field for the score). So now it's 7-7, and on the Cowboys first play back Romo throws an interception to a diving Sean Jones. Some will try to tell you that the interception would have been the turning point for the Eagles; they take the turnover in for a 14-7 lead and never look back. I'm not buying that. The officials reversed the call giving Dallas the ball back, they took it 85 yards for a touchdown and they never looked back. A couple field goals and a touchdown by Miles Austin, the game is 27-7 at the half. The second half wasn't much prettier. (Although the Cowboys only scored once, on a 73-yard Felix Jones run, in the second half so maybe it was a little prettier.) Is 34-14 better or worse than 24-0? I don't even want to think about it. It pains me to say this (again), but the Dallas Cowboys are better than the Eagles and they proved it, three times. On defense, we missed Stewart Bradley (all year, but especially against Dallas ), we missed Brian Dawkins, and we missed the late great Jim Johnson. Sean McDermott did a heck of a job this year replacing a legend, but it's hard for me to believe that an Eagles D under Jim Johnson loses back-to-back games to the Cowboys the way they did. Without Bradley our linebackers were exposed. Jason Witten constantly had a free release from the line of scrimmage and none of our linebackers or safeties could cover him. Safeties like Macho Harris, who are borderline useless (it is safe to say the Eagles didn't address the loss of Brian Dawkins in the secondary. It is also safe to say the Eagles were wrong in letting Dawkins go. Do we beat the Cowboys if #20 is still in green? Probably not, but the lack of talent and experience in the safety position seriously crippled the Eagles defense). The Eagles get rid of Dawkins but still feel comfortable playing Jeremiah Trotter? Anyone? Bueller? The offense was pathetic once again. Donovan McNabb was 19-37 passing, with 230 yards. He threw an interception, a junk-time touchdown, and lost a fumble. That touchdown was caught by DeSean Jackson, who only had 3 catches for 14 yards. The high man was the rookie Maclin who caught 7 passes for 146 yards (he was targeted 12 times. Getting the ball to the receiver just about 50% of the time, not good. On Dallas , Austin caught 7 of 10, Roy E. Williams caught 5 of 8, and Patrick Crayton caught 3 of 4 target passes). It starts up front with the offensive and defensive lines. Dallas was able to get pressure on McNabb rushing four, sometimes five players. When you can get to the quarterback with your interior linemen, that bodes well for your pass coverage, the reason Jackson , in particular, wasn't able to get the ball in his hands was because the Cowboys had extra players they could drop in cover. The Eagles didn't have that. If they Eagles wanted to pressure Romo they had to bring the extra blitz up the middle or off the edge. That works in the short-term, but eventually an offense will adjust and get the ball out quickly to one-on-one coverage. When the Eagles wanted to rush just the four linemen, Romo had all day to throw and we saw the result of that. The Eagles have a lot of work to do over the offseason, and a lot of questions to answer. They need help on defense, they need a pass rusher to play opposite of Trent Cole to bring pressure from the other side. They need a safety. What's the future hold for Brian Westbrook? Sadly, you might have witnessed his last game as an Eagle Saturday night in Dallas . The Eagles did only run the ball 11 times, but when they did it was LeSean McCoy and Leonard Weaver who were carrying the ball. Westbrook had one catch, it seems like the Eagles are ready to move forward with the youngster McCoy and the punch of Weaver. We know Andy Reid is coming back, and according to him McNabb will also be back. McNabb had to play perfect football to even give the Birds a chance, and he was far from it. After the Eagles were eliminated I decided to invest my NFC cheering in the Green Bay Packers. I'm a marginally huge Aaron Rodgers fan, and after the Vikings beat (cross my fingers and toes) the Cowboys I was hoping to be able to root against Favre and for the Packs. It wasn't looking so great Sunday afternoon in Arizona when the Cardinals had a 31-10 lead in the third quarter. Then Rodgers did what quarterbacks in the playoffs are supposed to do, he put the offense on his shoulders and refused to be embarrassed in January. He threw four touchdown passes in the second half and if the Green Bay defense was able to force two punts all game instead of one, I have no doubt the Packers would have won in regulation. They lost in OT on a facemask/fumble return for a touchdown, 51-45. It took all weekend, but the Packers and Cardinals saved the best of Wildcard weekend for last. I can't help it, I'm back. I love the playoffs. As for the Eagles, it was another great regular season and another great disappointment. It has been a pleasure contributing to ITE all year, and for some reason beyond my control I'll be back to do it all over again next year. I hope you will be too. Stephen's Trip to Training Camp 2009 Steve Lewis 8-6-09 I had the privilege of attending morning session at Lehigh on Tuesday. Camp is an enjoyable experience. The weather was lovely and all the stars were getting lots of reps with the exception of the still recovering Brian Westbrook. But the mood at camp still had a somber feeling from the passing of the team's legendary coordinator Jim Johnson.
Jim Johnson was a perfect fit for this organization. Aggressive, blitzing defenses have always been a staple in Philadelphia and have been a source of excitement for a rabid fan base. Johnson's speed blitz packages, utilizing defensive backs to attack the quarterback, were revolutionary. The game I will remember as Johnson's finest performance was that Sunday night in Foxboro, when he put together a game plan to stall possibly the most potent offense in NFL history. The Patriots were 27 point favorites that night, but Johnson's scheme kept the birds in it to the end. The Pats won the game but the damage was done. Weeks later, Steve Spagnuolo would borrow Johnson's blue print and changed history by ending the Pats perfect season. That script was more suited for Brad Lidge and the Phils anyway. More photos here
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