I can't say I was very surprised by the 52-20 beat-down the undefeated Denver Broncos handed the now 1-3 Philadelphia Eagles, but was surprised by how the game progressed. The Eagles were quite competitive through thirty minutes of play and things would have been even tighter at halftime if they made the most of their red-zone opportunities. The team wasn't at all competitive in the second half, though - to the point where FOX switched games and backups were placed in all across the board.
While the Eagles offense piled up a lot of yards and didn't turn the ball over, they converted just two of five red-zone opportunities into touchdowns, while the Broncos were a perfect five for five in the red zone. The Eagles were fairly solid on the ground - combining to run for 166 yards on 35 carries (4.7 per). LeSean McCoy led the way with 73 yards on 16 carries (4.6 per). Michael Vick and later Nick Foles spread the ball around fairly nicely, as ten different receivers aught at least one pass. Tight end Brent Celek led them all with three catches for 57 yards (19.0 avg.). DeSean Jackson, meanwhile, was limited to two receptions for 34 yards (17.0 avg.). Vick's passing numbers weren't spectacular, but he was fairly accurate all afternoon, and I can't tell you how many balls he threw away, which largely contributed to his less-than-stellar 14 for 27 completion percentage. The passes did go for 248 yards (9.2 per). He didn't throw any touchdowns or interceptions and ended up with a quarterback rating of 83.6. He was also hurried a fair amount and sacked three times as a result. In addition, the Philadelphia quarterback ran the ball 8 times for 41 yards (5.1 per).
There's not much positive spin I can give on the Eagles' defensive or special teams performances. The defense didn't get much pressure on Manning, and allowed him to have a field day, as he completed 28 of 34 pass attempts for 327 yards (9.6 per), 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions for a spectacular quarterback rating of 146.0. The Broncos running backs ran for a total of 141 yards on 33 carries (4.3 per). Overall, the Philly defense allowed 472 yards from scrimmage (331 passing, 141 rushing) and 35 first downs. The Eagles special teams units weren't much better, as Alex Henery missed another field goal, Denver returnman Trindon Holliday took a kickoff back for a touchdown, and the Broncos blocked a punt and returned that for seven more.
It's sad to say, but the Eagles as a team have seemed to get worse every week through the first four this season. While the offense clicked and defense performed well for 2.5 quarters in the team's opener against Washington, the offense clicked and defense did anything but perform well against the San Diego Chargers. The defense played slightly better against Kansas City, but the offense didn't look at all in sync. Then yesterday, the offense had trouble translating yards into points and both the defense and special teams units were abysmal. The club's defense and special teams will need to improve if they want to be at all competitive in the sad NFC East. The offense has been racking up plenty of yards, but as I just mentioned, they've had trouble translating those yards into points. The Eagles don't have an offensive unit made for the red zone. They have a unit which can make for some some very explosive, exciting plays, but currently don't ossess the size to consistently score touchdowns in the red zone. Commentator and announcer Troy Aikman said multiple times yesterday that receivers weren't getting open for Vick. This is where the loss of Jeremy Maclin has significantly hurt the team. While Riley Cooper may give Vick a decent sized receiver to throw to in the red zone, he's been a major downgrade anywhere else on the field, which has placed even more pressure on speedster DeSean Jackson, who isn't exactly Calvin Johnson in terms of size. Jason Avant isn't a blazer either. So with Maclin gone, Vick basically has two long-distance threats in the offense - Jackson and LeSean McCoy, neither of whom are consistent threats in the red zone due to their size. What Chip Kelly may need to start doing is go bigger inside the red zone with the likes of multiple tight ends, Jason Avant, and Riley Cooper, as well as Bryce Brown in the backfield (or Polk, who scored one of the team's two touchdowns yesterday). He may also want to start rolling Vick out more to give him the run-pass option and get him into the end zone more using his feet. Something will need to be changed, because the team can't keep trading touchdowns for field goals in the red zone and expect to compete in the division.
Speaking of which, that's about the only bit of good news I can bring forth with this blog for Eagles fans. The team plays in the NFC East or perhaps NFC (L)East if things continue to go as they have. Believe it or not, but the Eagles, at 1-3, are tied for second in the division and just one back of division-leading Dallas. In other words, for as awful as their start has been, the Eagles are right in the middle of the division race. Chip Kelly will need to get things turned around very soon, though, because we may be approaching make-it-or-break-it time for the team. Three of the Eagles next four opponents are NFC East teams, and the other is 0-4 Tampa Bay. The club will head to New York to take on the 0-4 Giants this coming Sunday, before heading to Tampa to take on the winless Bucs, and then travel back to Philly to take on the 2-2 Cowboys and 0-4 Giants. With the game on the road and for as awful as the Giants have been playing, I'd call this next game a toss-up. The Eagles will need to play better in all three areas, however, if they want to get the win. For as bad as the Giants have been, there's nothing they'd like more than to get their first win against a struggling Eagles team.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=330929007
While the Eagles offense piled up a lot of yards and didn't turn the ball over, they converted just two of five red-zone opportunities into touchdowns, while the Broncos were a perfect five for five in the red zone. The Eagles were fairly solid on the ground - combining to run for 166 yards on 35 carries (4.7 per). LeSean McCoy led the way with 73 yards on 16 carries (4.6 per). Michael Vick and later Nick Foles spread the ball around fairly nicely, as ten different receivers aught at least one pass. Tight end Brent Celek led them all with three catches for 57 yards (19.0 avg.). DeSean Jackson, meanwhile, was limited to two receptions for 34 yards (17.0 avg.). Vick's passing numbers weren't spectacular, but he was fairly accurate all afternoon, and I can't tell you how many balls he threw away, which largely contributed to his less-than-stellar 14 for 27 completion percentage. The passes did go for 248 yards (9.2 per). He didn't throw any touchdowns or interceptions and ended up with a quarterback rating of 83.6. He was also hurried a fair amount and sacked three times as a result. In addition, the Philadelphia quarterback ran the ball 8 times for 41 yards (5.1 per).
There's not much positive spin I can give on the Eagles' defensive or special teams performances. The defense didn't get much pressure on Manning, and allowed him to have a field day, as he completed 28 of 34 pass attempts for 327 yards (9.6 per), 4 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions for a spectacular quarterback rating of 146.0. The Broncos running backs ran for a total of 141 yards on 33 carries (4.3 per). Overall, the Philly defense allowed 472 yards from scrimmage (331 passing, 141 rushing) and 35 first downs. The Eagles special teams units weren't much better, as Alex Henery missed another field goal, Denver returnman Trindon Holliday took a kickoff back for a touchdown, and the Broncos blocked a punt and returned that for seven more.
It's sad to say, but the Eagles as a team have seemed to get worse every week through the first four this season. While the offense clicked and defense performed well for 2.5 quarters in the team's opener against Washington, the offense clicked and defense did anything but perform well against the San Diego Chargers. The defense played slightly better against Kansas City, but the offense didn't look at all in sync. Then yesterday, the offense had trouble translating yards into points and both the defense and special teams units were abysmal. The club's defense and special teams will need to improve if they want to be at all competitive in the sad NFC East. The offense has been racking up plenty of yards, but as I just mentioned, they've had trouble translating those yards into points. The Eagles don't have an offensive unit made for the red zone. They have a unit which can make for some some very explosive, exciting plays, but currently don't ossess the size to consistently score touchdowns in the red zone. Commentator and announcer Troy Aikman said multiple times yesterday that receivers weren't getting open for Vick. This is where the loss of Jeremy Maclin has significantly hurt the team. While Riley Cooper may give Vick a decent sized receiver to throw to in the red zone, he's been a major downgrade anywhere else on the field, which has placed even more pressure on speedster DeSean Jackson, who isn't exactly Calvin Johnson in terms of size. Jason Avant isn't a blazer either. So with Maclin gone, Vick basically has two long-distance threats in the offense - Jackson and LeSean McCoy, neither of whom are consistent threats in the red zone due to their size. What Chip Kelly may need to start doing is go bigger inside the red zone with the likes of multiple tight ends, Jason Avant, and Riley Cooper, as well as Bryce Brown in the backfield (or Polk, who scored one of the team's two touchdowns yesterday). He may also want to start rolling Vick out more to give him the run-pass option and get him into the end zone more using his feet. Something will need to be changed, because the team can't keep trading touchdowns for field goals in the red zone and expect to compete in the division.
Speaking of which, that's about the only bit of good news I can bring forth with this blog for Eagles fans. The team plays in the NFC East or perhaps NFC (L)East if things continue to go as they have. Believe it or not, but the Eagles, at 1-3, are tied for second in the division and just one back of division-leading Dallas. In other words, for as awful as their start has been, the Eagles are right in the middle of the division race. Chip Kelly will need to get things turned around very soon, though, because we may be approaching make-it-or-break-it time for the team. Three of the Eagles next four opponents are NFC East teams, and the other is 0-4 Tampa Bay. The club will head to New York to take on the 0-4 Giants this coming Sunday, before heading to Tampa to take on the winless Bucs, and then travel back to Philly to take on the 2-2 Cowboys and 0-4 Giants. With the game on the road and for as awful as the Giants have been playing, I'd call this next game a toss-up. The Eagles will need to play better in all three areas, however, if they want to get the win. For as bad as the Giants have been, there's nothing they'd like more than to get their first win against a struggling Eagles team.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=330929007
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