Monday, September 30, 2013

Broncos vs Local High School Team Game Review

Well, nobody expected the Eagles to win this week. Hell, nobody really even expected them to cover the 10 point line.  However, the Eagles didn't belong on the same field as the Denver Broncos yesterday.

Let's start with the positives:


Ok, now let's talk about what went wrong.  The Eagles were actually relatively close early.  Peyton Manning is the best QB to ever play the game. He makes the best defenses in the league look silly most days.  Therefore, when you are on offense, you need to score points to stay in a game with him.  The Eagles offense was moving the ball early.  However, a big drop by Brent Celek slowed them down, and made them settle for a field goal.  There were several more drops in this game, which just can't happen.  Coaching can put players in the best position, but they still need to make plays.  Leaving points on the field will cause losses vs anybody, especially against the best offense on the planet.  In the second half, the offense looked like they gave up.  Vick didn't get any time, receivers didn't get open.  Desean is the only weapon for Vick right now.  Riley Cooper, aka The NFL's Michael Richards, is awful.  He isn't a starting caliber receiver in this league.  I think Ertz and Celek are talented players, but consistently dropping passes cancels anything they bring out.  We will see how the offense rebounds next week against a shitty Giants defense.

Speaking of defense, I don't really remember what that is.  Between the last few years and this year, I don't have confidence in stopping the Jaguars offense, let alone the Broncos.  I could have thrown for 300 yds and 3 tds with the weapons the Broncos have against this secondary.  Players were wide open on every play.  Wes Welker kept running the same play, everybody knew it was coming, and yet it kept working.  If they wanted to, they could have thrown it to him 30 times for 300 yds and 4 tds.  Demaryius Thomas was a physical mismatch against our cornerbacks.  Eric Decker lit us up too.  They even ran the ball down our throats for good measure.  Then reports came out today that Fletcher Cox and the rest of the defense was taunting Peyton.  Calling out "Papa John's" for this awful commercial.  That is funny and all, but you don't taunt legends when they are making you look foolish.

Hopefully we will see better results this week against the Fredo Manning of the Manning brothers and big blue.  However, it looks like Eagles fans are in for a long season.


Monday, September 23, 2013

Eagles vs. Chiefs Game Review

After the first half of week one, the Eagles looked like a powerhouse.  You saw the potential for greatness.  The last 10 quarters, not so much.  I'm not down on the Eagles, and I don't think they are done.  That said, there is work that needs to be done.  First of all, turnovers kill you.  When you lose the turnover battle 5-0, it is very hard to win a football game. Damaris Johnson's botched punt and  Mike Vick's pick 6 put us in a 10-0 hole early.  I don't care how fast you can score, games can't be started that way.  You could tell Andy Reid knew Vick's weaknesses as Kansas City kept him uncomfortable all day.  The offensive line, in particular, Lane Johnson, had a poor game, and Vick was sacked way too many times.  That said, the offense's biggest scare came when Shady took a fall and came up grabbing his leg.  When your best player is holding his knee, your entire season flashes before your eyes.  Him coming back and playing great was the only saving grace for this game.

On defense, it was actually an improvement from last week.  This was the first game that pre-season standout Vinny Curry played.  He only played 12 snaps, but it felt as if he got penetration in all of them.  He played his game in the opposing backfield, and was the best player on defense.  The defense was attacking the quarterback, and Jamaal Charles never got going.  That said, the coverage was god awful.  Nate Allen, as only Nate Allen does, played off way too far and took bad angles to the ball.  Charles touchdown was on a bad Nate Allen play.  The team could not get off the field on third down.  Third and long all game, the play was an underneath route to Donnie Avery, and he was able to get to the marker.  It was unacceptable, but the play of the D-Line was very promising.  They made the first overall pick in the draft, Eric Fisher, look very bad.

Now the Eagles are 1-2 in the worst division in the NFC, maybe the entire NFL.  They are still in second place.  However, they travel to Denver next Sunday to take on the best team in the NFL.  Most fans have already chalked that down as a loss.  However, with winnable games after that, the test of where this team stands will come in the next few weeks.