So, I just watched the 49ers/Eagles game. Wow... That's the first word that springs to mind. The Eagles could well be 4-0 at this time. The handled St. Louis fairly easily, beating the Rams 31-13. They led Atlanta 31-21 going into the 4th quarter, before collapsing and losing 35-31. They led the New York Giants 16-14 going into the 4th quarter, only to again collapse and lose 29-16. Again, today, Philadelphia led 20-3 going into halftime and found a way to lose 24-23.
On the day? Vick threw for a career best 416 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 75 yards rushing. DeSean Jackson had 175 yards receiving. The team accumulated over 500 yards of offense. Jason Babin sacked Alex Smith three times. Alex Henery made three field goals. Vick completed passes to seven different receivers. They must have dominated, right? Now for the bad. Alex Henery missed two field goals, including a 34-yarder midway in the 4th quarter which would have put Philly up 26-17. On a 3rd-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Vick handed the ball off to Ronnie Brown, who was stuffed at the 2-yard line and for some strange reason, he tried to lateral the ball as he was being tackled. The pass went backwards and the 49ers pounced upon it to take away a field goal opportunity from the Eagles. It had to have been one of the dumbest plays I've seen in a while. Receiver Jeremy Maclin fumbled the ball late in the 4th quarter as the Eagles were driving in 49ers' territory. San Francisco, the last-ranked offense in the league coming into the game, amassed close to 450 yards of offense and ran the ball all over the Eagles' front seven in the 4th quarter.
Up next for Philly? A road game against Buffalo, who is 3-1 after losing their first game today, to Cincinnati. The Eagles, 1-3 now, are already in trouble, but will be in serious trouble if they fall to Buffalo next week and drop to 1-4.
While the Eagles offense looked explosive at times today, they also failed once again to make the most of their red-zone opportunities, as Alex Henery attempted five field goals and that would have been six if Ronnie Brown didn't make the before-mentioned boneheaded move he did. Also, while Philadelphia has arguably the most explosive offense in the league as far as skill-position players go, they seem to lack an identity. They were near tops in the league in rushing offense heading into today's game, with LeSean McCoy being second in the league in rushing. Today? McCoy rushed the ball only 9 times for 18 yards. Especially at the start of the 2nd half, with Philly leading 20-3, the running game should have been more utilized than it was. While Philly better strategized today to protect their quarterback, the guy still got hit more than his fair share of times, could be seen limping after one such hit. Lastly, their defense needs to play better. If they received a dollar for every missed tackle they had, they could retire right now. They need to generate more turnovers, be even semi-effective against the run and play more man-to-man in the secondary, as the zone has eaten them up so far this season. Lastly, they need to find a way to close out games, which they've failed to do each of the past three weeks. It doesn't matter how much money Philadelphia spent in the off-season, how much talent they possess, what their potential is. What matters are W's and the Eagles need those in a hurry before they're looking at must-win games just to keep potential playoff hopes alive.
On the day? Vick threw for a career best 416 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 75 yards rushing. DeSean Jackson had 175 yards receiving. The team accumulated over 500 yards of offense. Jason Babin sacked Alex Smith three times. Alex Henery made three field goals. Vick completed passes to seven different receivers. They must have dominated, right? Now for the bad. Alex Henery missed two field goals, including a 34-yarder midway in the 4th quarter which would have put Philly up 26-17. On a 3rd-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Vick handed the ball off to Ronnie Brown, who was stuffed at the 2-yard line and for some strange reason, he tried to lateral the ball as he was being tackled. The pass went backwards and the 49ers pounced upon it to take away a field goal opportunity from the Eagles. It had to have been one of the dumbest plays I've seen in a while. Receiver Jeremy Maclin fumbled the ball late in the 4th quarter as the Eagles were driving in 49ers' territory. San Francisco, the last-ranked offense in the league coming into the game, amassed close to 450 yards of offense and ran the ball all over the Eagles' front seven in the 4th quarter.
Up next for Philly? A road game against Buffalo, who is 3-1 after losing their first game today, to Cincinnati. The Eagles, 1-3 now, are already in trouble, but will be in serious trouble if they fall to Buffalo next week and drop to 1-4.
While the Eagles offense looked explosive at times today, they also failed once again to make the most of their red-zone opportunities, as Alex Henery attempted five field goals and that would have been six if Ronnie Brown didn't make the before-mentioned boneheaded move he did. Also, while Philadelphia has arguably the most explosive offense in the league as far as skill-position players go, they seem to lack an identity. They were near tops in the league in rushing offense heading into today's game, with LeSean McCoy being second in the league in rushing. Today? McCoy rushed the ball only 9 times for 18 yards. Especially at the start of the 2nd half, with Philly leading 20-3, the running game should have been more utilized than it was. While Philly better strategized today to protect their quarterback, the guy still got hit more than his fair share of times, could be seen limping after one such hit. Lastly, their defense needs to play better. If they received a dollar for every missed tackle they had, they could retire right now. They need to generate more turnovers, be even semi-effective against the run and play more man-to-man in the secondary, as the zone has eaten them up so far this season. Lastly, they need to find a way to close out games, which they've failed to do each of the past three weeks. It doesn't matter how much money Philadelphia spent in the off-season, how much talent they possess, what their potential is. What matters are W's and the Eagles need those in a hurry before they're looking at must-win games just to keep potential playoff hopes alive.
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